A Superstar Adventure: A Mario Odyssey Rewrite
by The Sensational SpiderDom321
Summary: Just as Mario got the courage to ask Princess Peach what he's wanted for the longest time, Bowser intrudes with a sinister plan to marry the princess for his selfish desires. Not knowing what to do, Mario joins forces with Cappy, who seems to be looking for his lost family. Together, they whisk away on an odyssey no plumber has gone on before.
1. I'm Getting Married

_**A/N:** A while ago, I made a story that had this same title, but unfortunately, due to a computer glitch and heavy amounts of anxiety and stress, I had to take it down along with my old account. But now that I am back, I have decided to bring back this story. I wound up finding the files of the original story, but I decided to change them around a bit. For those who read the original, you will notice some similarities as well as differences. For those new here, welcome, it's great to see you all here_

_Disclaimer: I do not hate Super Mario Odyssey's Story. It's the simple Mario story we all know. I love the video game to death and play it most of my time. That game and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are great Switch Titles. Mario and all other related properties belong to Nintendo._

_One last thing, I always do this with my stories. For certain scenes, I recommend music for people to listen to make the scene more dramatic. If you see a number **(1) **that is your cue to play the music. If you see a number with an "s" next to it **(1s) **that is your cue to stop the music. Got it? ;)_

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Bowser Battle - Super Mario Galaxy OST_**

**_(2) Final Boss (Phase 2) - New Super Mario Bros Wii OST_**

**_(3) Cap Kingdom (Bonneton) - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**I'm Getting Married**

In the skies above Peach's castle, a donnybrook erupted between two foes. _**(1)**_

"Mama Mia!" Mario: Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom shouted, as he avoided getting burned to a crisp by jumping out of the way. The fire ball he dodged smacked against a white wall, vanishing in a split second.

Bowser: King of the Koopa Klan, laughed at the sight of Mario's bravery. He charged up another fireball in his mouth and shot it at his enemy. The Italian plumber did the same thing he did before, giving the giant turtle a taste of his own medicine. He shot an orb of flames at the Koopa's tail, making him jump up in the air in pain.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Bowser shouted. "Red hot! Red hot! Red hot!" he slammed his tail against the purple carpet of his airship; the fire disappeared. Bowser let out a sigh of relief before turning to Mario, looking deep into his soul with his cold, dead, red eyes.

"Ha ha ha!" Bowser laughed. "Face it, Mario! Your no match for me! Princess Peach is mine, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"That's what you always, say, Bowser," Mario retorted, adjusting his classic red cap. "And you know what happens? I always beat you in the end. Wanna know why? Because I'm always one step ahead of you!"

"And I always have a backup plan!" Bowser snarled, snapping his fingers. He jumped up into the air, performed a front flip, and dive bombed towards the plumber.

Frightened, Mario ran out of the way, but as soon as Bowser crashed his metal boots into the ground, the force of the impact shot the hero into the golden railing of the airship. From there, he could see his girlfriend, Princess Peach Toadstool. She was tied up against a pole with a white cloth covering her mouth. She snarled at the giant turtle, angry that she was kidnapped on such a perfect day like this. She looked at Mario, begging him to break her out with screams of anger and distress.

Not only did she want to escape, but she wanted to help her boyfriend fight his arch-nemesis.

"Hang on, honey!" Mario said. "I'm-a coming- " he turned around and saw Bowser's fist heading right for him. "_Gah!_"

Bowser missed Mario by a split second, smashing his fists against the gold railing; it broke in half because of the former's brute strength. Bowser swatted at Mario with both of his fists before he smacked the plumber in the chest with his spikey tail. Mario flew backward, skidding across the ground with his brown boots.

He adjusted his cap again, tightened his blue overalls, and cracked the fingers underneath his white gloves; he was not ready to give up.

As Mario looked up at the giant turtle, he noticed that there was something oddly different about him. The same thing went for the airship both combatants were fighting on.

Bowser was wearing a white and purple suit with silver metallic boots. On top of his head was a mechanized hat with his Koopa Klan logo on it. He adjusted his purple tie and fixed his white suit; the only parts that were exposed were his tail and his massive shell. His air ship was completely white as well. A carpet made of purple silk scattered the floor, the railings were painted in a more golden color than they usually were, and wedding flowers were on the side of the ship. What could have forced Bowser to change his clothing as well as the colors of his own battleship?

Mario was oblivious to the answer; he wondered what Bowser's next plan was.

He knew the king of the Koopas did ridiculous things like imprisoning Sprixies, conquering the entire galaxy twice, and ruining various sports tournaments. What could he be up to this time?

Before Mario could make his predictions, he noticed his own girlfriend looked different as well. Her golden crown as no longer on her head. Instead, It was a silver tiara with teary eyes; it looked feminine. The silver object shed a small tear down her cheek; it landed in Peach's blonde hair.

The confused princess looked up and saw how lugubrious the crown looked. She sighed, feeling a bit of pity for her.

Mario scratched his head, looking back at Bowser. "What's going on here, Bowser? Putting on fancy clothes, decorating your battleship, and giving Peach a new crown? What's-a all of this nonsense?" _**(1s)**_

"I'm glad you asked, my chubby friend," Bowser replied with a sneer, putting his beefy hands together. "You see, Mario," Bowser then said something that would haunt Mario for the rest of his life. "_I'm getting married._"

"W-what!?" Mario screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Whoa, okay!" Bowser said, covering his ears. They hurt because of how loud Mario's response was. "Little loud there, buddy. Take it down a little."

That cursed reply ran through Mario's brain. Could this really be true? Could Bowser be proposing to Princess Peach? Mario always knew that Bowser had a fascination with the Mushroom Kingdom's ruler, but he never knew what the reason was. He always assumed Bowser kidnapped Peach every day just to annoy him, but he never actually thought Bowser had a love for Peach.

Granted, Mario did recall the time he and Peach went to Isle Delfino for a vacation, only for the latter to get kidnapped by Bowser and his son, Bowser Junior. He remembered the Koopa King telling his son that Peach was their mom, but he thought Bowser did that just to get humorous in a weird fashion.

_Bowser wants to marry Peach? _Mario said to himself. _I always thought he wanted to enslave her, not __**marry **__her! What is this? This can't be-a true!_

Turning his back away from Bowser, Mario reached into his pocket and took out something he's been wanting to give to the princess for so long; a red box. He opened it up, revealing the present that would define the future of him and Peach's relationship; a pink wedding ring with a blue ruby on the top.

Mario sighed, feeling awful that he didn't see this moment coming. Bowser would always come in and ruin peaceful days in the Mushroom Kingdom, but Mario prayed to the Mushroom Gods above that Bowser wouldn't mess up the day… he would propose to Princess Peach. Letting out a low sigh, he clenched the wedding ring in his fist before he put it back in his pocket.

"Bowser," Mario said with a scowl. "I _know _for a fact you don't love Peach as much as I do! You just want her as a slave for your kingdom!"

"You wanna know something, Mario?" Bowser asked, walking up to Mario and wrapping his around his shoulder. "You disgust me," he poked Mario's chest with his claw. He then walked away from the plumber, continuing that explanation of his plan. "I've always loved the princess _way _before you and your dingus brother showed up to the Mushroom Kingdom! She's mine, Mario, not yours! Mine! Once her and I get hitched, she's going to rule the Koopa Empire alongside me!"

"This is ridiculous!" Mario retorted, waving his arms. "You're fighting over her as if she's a trophy! Is that you treat your loved one?"

"She's not my trophy, she's my queen!" Bowser replied, motioning to Peach. The princess gave him a snarl. "My seven Koopalings have already picked up the supplies I need for the wedding. It's been fun, Mario, but I gotta practice my wedding dance routine. Ta-ta, loser!" _**(2)**_

"No! You're _not _taking her!" Mario shouted. He growled and tackled Bowser, grabbing him by his tail. He spun the turtle around like he did in the past and chucked him right into a wall. Bowser snarled, wiping some dust off his uniform.

"You're dead, plumber!" Bowser gritted his teeth. He shot another fireball from his mouth. Mario dodged it with ease and continued the fight against his enemy.

Princess Peach, who wanted nothing more than to have a peaceful date with Mario, was tired of all this nonsense. As she watched the two fight, she felt a tear drop down the side of her cheek. But it wasn't her's, it was the crown's.

Peach raised an eyebrow, wondering why this tiara was crying and why she was here in the first place. She would ask verbally, but because her mouth was tied shut by a white cloth, she couldn't do so.

But she did hear the little female crown say something in a somber tone, "Cappy… father… I'm so sorry,"

_Cappy? Father? _Peach said in her thoughts. _Who is this person?_

Peach then mumbled to the tiara, getting her attention. The silver crown turned her eyes downward, looking at the princess in need of assistance. She wiped away her tears with a fingerless, stubby, arm. She then replied to the princess.

"I'm sorry," the tiara said. "My name is Tiara. I'm the reason why this is happening.

Peach mumbled her a question, _"What do you mean?"_

"What?"

Peach mumbled again, _"What do you mean this is your fault?"_

"I can't understand you."

Peach rolled her eyes and told the crown to untie her.

"Oh!" Tiara said, realizing Peach needed help. "Sorry! Allow me!"

Tiara flew off of Peach's blonde hair and went behind the pole, quickly untying the ropes. Peach was soon set free and she yanked off her mouth cloth. "Finally!" she said. "Thank you… Tiara, was it?"

"Yes!" Tiara nodded with joy.

"What did you mean by you're the reason for this happening?" Peach asked.

"I'll explain later, right now, we have to save my dad!" Tiara exclaimed.

"Your dad? Where is he?" Peach inquired.

Tiara answered by pointing the giant white hat on Bowser's head. Speaking of which, the Koopa King grabbed Mario and slammed him against the purple carpet.

"Mario, you're ruining my carpet!" Bowser joked, chuckling at Mario's pain. "No, seriously, get your face off my carpet!"

"That hat is your father?" Peach asked Tiara.

"It sounds weird, I know, but it's true. I need your help to rescue him." Tiara said.

"Don't worry," Peach grinned, fixing her hair and tightening her white arm sleeves. "I got this."

Princess Peach jumped off the platform she stood on and began running toward Bowser at full speed. Mario jumped to side, evading Bowser's next attack, when he noticed that he was about to get some extra support. He smiled and chuckled at Bowser.

"What's so funny?" Bowser snarled. Peach jumped up and, without hesitation, punched Bowser upside the back of his head. She then grabbed the horns on his head and slammed him down on the carpet. Before he recovered, Peach kicked him up the face, causing Bowser to shoot through the air; he did several backflips before landing on his stomach.

"That's for ruining my date!" Peach snarled, wiping her lip. Mario walked up behind her, giving her a hug.

"That was great, Peach!" Mario smiled. "Great job!"

Peach gave her boyfriend a hug before she kissed his forehead. "Thanks, sweetie," she replied with a smile, but her positive feeling faded once Bowser got back up on his feet.

"Honey, seriously?" Bowser moaned in pain, rubbing his head. "Why?"

"Don't call me _''honey,' _Bowser!" Peach grunted. Which made Mario smile. "The wedding's off! There's only one man I gave my heart too! Now, give me back Tiara's father!"

"Yeah-wait, what?" Mario asked, raising both his eyebrows. "Who's Tiara and where's her father?"

"Hi," Tiara greeted by waving at Mario. "That's me!"

Mario gasped in shock. A talking hat? That's something no one sees every day.

_Shoot! She found out about… __**her**__! _Bowser snarled, clenching his fist. _I think it's time to end this once and for all!_

Bowser suddenly charged for the plumber and pushed him to the side like a football player fighting his opponent. He grabbed Peach and held her against his body, almost as if he was hugging her. Peach's arms were stuck beside her body, unable to move them because Bowser hindered her from escaping his clutches.

"Let me go, you ugly mug!" Peach demanded. Bowser then noticed Tiara trying to go for the hat on Bowser's head. But the Koopa King was quick the grab the silver crown, placing her back on Peach's head.

"Now, now, little one," Bowser chuckled. "I don't want you leaving the party."

As Bowser turned around, he saw that Mario lunged at him, ready to attack. Mario's efforts were soon thwarted when Bowser smacked him across the face with his tail. Mario landed on his side before he got back up.

It was at that moment where Bowser gave a cold, maniacal, chuckle. He wrapped his fingers around the tip of his new hat. "This is the end… _for you!_" Bowser chucked his hat right at Mario's body; the top-hat spun around like a fast-moving record.

Mario ducked underneath the hat, but the whoosh of the hat caused his classic red cap to shoot off his brown hair. Tapping his head and fixing his hair, Mario scowled and cracked his knuckles.

"So, what?" Mario asked. "You knocked my hat off. I can still finish you!"

"Made ya look," Bowser sneered, shooting his enemy a wink.

"Hmm?" Mario rubbed his head, unaware that Bowser's top-hat was coming right back like to him like a boomerang.

"Mario, look out!" Peach yelled. She kicked Bowser in the shin, breaking free from his grasp. She rushed to her boyfriend; her feet tapped rapidly across the ground. Despite being in high heels, she ran like the wind. "_Behind you!_"

Mario turned around, but it was too late.

_**SMACK! (2s)**_

The top-hat hit Mario so hard in the chest, it sent him sky-rocketing off of the battleship. Peach accidentally tripped over her left foot, falling to the ground. She looked up, focusing her bluebell eyes on Mario's sudden defeat.

Through the clear sky, Mario was the only projectile in sight. But as he flew by, he started to disappear.

Within a matter of seconds, he was gone completely.

"_**MARIO!**_" Peach shouted at the top of her lungs. Tiara looked up and saw the defeat of Peach's boyfriend. The pink-dressed princess got down on her knees, slamming the ground with her fists. "No, no, no, _no, no, __**NO!**_" she shouted an incantation that made Bowser smile. His arch-nemesis was finally gone.

The princess cupped her hands together before slamming the ground one last time. After the final slam, a small tear dropped from her eyes. She wiped the tear away, feeling like she'll be treated like a baby if she cried during something as dire as this.

A moratorium of activity occurred on the ship… until a final piece of Mario landed beside the princess.

_Why?... I could have saved him!... I wasn't quick enough! _Peach said to herself; another salty tear dripped down her cheek. She looked next to her and saw Mario's red cap, sitting right there. "I'm sorry, Mario," she sniffed. "I tried to save you."

Before she could take the only thing left of her loved one, Bowser stepped on the cap with his silver boot. Shocked by that, Peach got up on her feet, gritted her teeth, and clenched her fists. Tiara closed her eyes, refusing to watch more violence occur. Peach pulled back her fist and fired it at Bowser, but the turtle's bulky hand caught the blow.

"You monster!" Peach shouted.

"Oh, please," Bowser rolled his eyes. "Like Mario getting knocked out hasn't happened before."

Bowser gently pushed Peach to the ground, laughing at the thought of Mario being gone forever. He finally accomplished his lifelong goal of defeating Mario.

All that was left now… was to marry Peach.

"Time for my wedding with Peach," Bowser cackled. He lifted his foot, picking the cap off the ground. He tossed it off the ship in a tenderly fashion. "Jealous, Mario?"

The cap gently brushed against the wind, flying towards the back of the ship.

Unfortunately, it was caught in the ship's engine wings; it was cut into tiny pieces. Multiple pieces of red fabric flew across the wind; the only thing that was in normal condition (somewhat) was the _M _on Mario's cap.

Prior to vanishing forever, a white figure caught it with his stubby hand.

It was a white top-hate with blue wisps of hair and large eyes with red irises. Under the hat was a body, which almost resembled an Eerie. The figure looked at the hat's logo before looking off into the distance, noticing that the battleship had taken off.

He rubbed his head before getting an idea.

"Mario?" he inquired. "Maybe he can help me!"

The little hat took off to the horizon, hoping to find the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.

* * *

"Excuse me, sir?... are you all right?"

He wasn't sure how long he was unconscious. Days? Weeks? Months? His senses were slowly coming back to him. His vision was hazy, yes, but he was unaware of where he was located.

"Are you Mario? Can you hear me okay? Hello?"

He woke up, adjusting his eyes to see where he was. One thing was for certain, he wasn't in the colorful land of the Mushroom Kingdom. He was in a place that looked dark and gloomy, It was though a hurricane was coming. There were small hat-shaped houses and airships that were spewing out smoke, it seemed like a war happened her. Then, he turned his eyes to the source of the voice: the same top-hat that managed to save part of his hat. Upon seeing him, he jumped, quite literally, out of shock. The sight scared the living daylight out of the hat was well, and it zipped over a nearby hill.

"Hey, wait!" Mario said to the floating creature, praying he'll get answers regarding his location. "Excuse me, sir! Can we talk!"

The hat screamed again and ran over another hill, Mario chased after him.

"Hold on a second," Mario shouted. "Who are you? Where am I? Where's Princess Peach?"

"Hey, I'll do you one better, who is Princess Peach?" the hat said in fear, running over another hill.

"I'll do you one better, _why is Princess Peach!?_... wait, hold on, that didn't sound right." Mario replied. He chased the hat through a bridge, unaware a bunch of other hats were whispering about his appearance and strange entrance.

"Who is that man?" one hat asked.

"Why is he chasing Cappy?" a female fedora asked.

"Has anyone seen President Reggie?" asked a male hat.

Mario chased the hat around the Central Plaza, looking at all the damage that has been done to all of the hat-shaped homes that plastered the black and white grass. What could have sparked such destruction? Mario's answer was a blur because he was mainly focused on catching the mysterious hat, whose name was Cappy.

"Stop!" Mario said before he tripped over a small hat-shaped light on the ground. He tumbled forward and landed against a mobile home. Cappy turned around, looked back at the plumber, and smacked against a stack of crates.

The stack of wooden boxes began to rumble because of the impact; they began to tip over, casting a shadow over Cappy. In other words, it was going to fall on him.

"Hey, watch out!" Mario shouted. He immediately jumped on his feet and ran towards the flying hat. He tackled him, pushing him out of the way. The boxes toppled over; the two on the top rolled across the ground.

The two chasers got off the ground, panting after dealing with that. Mario and Cappy looked at each other. They were finally way peace with each other. But the floating creature backed up a few feet, still startled at what happened before. _**(3)**_

Mario held up his hands and motioned to Cappy, "Mi dispiace, paesano. I didn't mean to jump up and scare you like that. Could you tell me where I am?"

The hat slowly hovered to him. "It's not your fault, I should be apologizing for my behavior. I tend to startle easily. My name is Cappy, welcome to Bonneton: Home of my own kind, Bonnetors. Are you Mario?"

"Yep! It's-a me, Mario! Woo hoo!" Mario smiled, doing his iconic jumping pose.

"I've heard about you, but I've never seen you in action before," Cappy said, offering the plumber his hand. "Please to meet you,"

"Likewise, Cappy," Mario replied, shaking Cappy's hand. "So, can you tell me what happened here? Looks like you guys had a battle."

"Funny you should say that. Not too long ago, we were under attack by the same monster that put you through the wringer."

"Bowser? Why would he come here? I mean, I've seen him attack places before, but those locations are connected to the Mushroom Kingdom. What made him come here?"

"Well, like your girlfriend, that demon kidnapped my sister and enslaved my father! I hoped to give chase to that monster in a ship of my own, but I was pinned down by that monster's minions. They escaped and left me to rot. So, I decided to get up and head after them. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as I hoped. My Kingdom and I tried to fight off that fiend's forces, but they were too powerful for us."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Mario said, looking around at the destruction of the Cap Kingdom. He felt horrible that he couldn't be here to save everyone. If he and Luigi were present, Bonneton would have been saved. "What do we do now? We can't just let Bowser get away."

The Bonnetor thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it… I'm fairly certain my dad still has a ship, one strong and fast enough to get us to Bowser. However, it's located in another kingdom. Our only way to get there is through a special mode of transportation."

"Where's that?" Mario asked.

"Up there,"

Mario looked up to the right and saw a giant tower known as Top-Hat Tower; an orb of light shined on the very top.

The Mushroom Kingdom hero thought about his next move. "You know, Cappy, you and I seem to want the same thing. How about we team up? You help me rescue my girlfriend and I'll help you get my family back. I know it sounds weird for a stranger like me to ask you for help, but hey, if we work together, we can accomplish anything!... Wow, I sound as cheesy as my blue rival. What I'm trying to say is… you want to work together?"

Cappy didn't have to think about his decision. He offered Mario his hand. "Deal! But before we go, you're gonna need some new headwear."

"What do you mean?" Mario asked. He touched his head in curiosity, but as soon as he made physical contact with his hair, he realized his hat was missing. He gasped. "My hat!"

Cappy reached behind him and took out the only piece of Mario's hat still around. "Sorry about your hat, this was the only piece I can find."

Mario's hands shook as he gently took the hat from Cappy. His lips quivered and his eyes were filled with tears. He wiped his eyes and hugged his hat. "Mama Mia… Hat! No!... why did it have to be you!?"

Cappy cringed when he saw Mario hug his prized possession.

"How you and I had many times together," Mario cried, cuddling beside his cap. "Adventuring through eight worlds, fighting alongside me in Super Smash Bros Tournaments, and traveling through the galaxy with me… _twice!_... I'm-a gonna miss you!"

"Cheer up, buddy," Cappy smiled, shooting Mario a wink. "I can help you!"

"H-how?" Mario asked.

"Allow me!" Cappy winked again. He then hovered over his new friend and plopped himself down. To Mario, it felt weird having a Bonnetor on his head. He looked at him in discomfort.

"Oh, come on!"

"What's the matter, not your style?" Cappy chuckled. "Not to worry, I got something else for ya,"

With the shred in his hands, Cappy spun around rapidly. Like that, the Bonnetor transformed into an exact duplicate of Mario's cap. The only difference was that Cappy's eyes were in place of the letter _M_. Mario squeaked with joy and grabbed the hat.

"Yes! Hat, you're back!" Mario began kissing the top of Cappy's head simultaneously "I'm-a so happy!"

"All right, all right, get off me!" Cappy said. "You ready to go?"

Mario then tossed Cappy in front of him; the latter came back to the former like a boomerang. "Let's-a go!" Mario replied.

The two of them began their journey. Thankfully, Bonneton wasn't filled with bad guys, so getting around was a piece of cake. The two adventurers came across a lever sitting on the top of a staircase of hills.

"Throw me at that lever," Cappy said.

Without question, Mario did what he told. Cappy gripped his hands around the lever and pulled it back; a large drawbridge suddenly came from the abyss below the kingdom.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" Mario smiled in inquiry.

"We're weirder than we look," Cappy replied.

"I'll say," Mushroom Kingdom's hero grabbed the hat and made his way across the bridge. From there, they were greeted by a few Goombas that were guarding a red door with a golden hat on it. Mario jumped on the enemies with ease, making them vanish in thin air.

"What odd little creatures," Cappy said. "They seem to know you and not like you."

"I don't have the best reputation when it comes to Bowser's minions," Mario quipped. He and Cappy then opened the door to the Top-Hat Tower. The former threw his hat at the door to do just that. The two then entered a pathway containing nothing but darkness, unaware of where they'll end up next. _**(3s)**_

_**END OF CHAPTER 1**_

* * *

_And that does it for our first chapter. Mario has found a new companion within Cappy. How will these two learn to work together during their journey? Will they save Princess Peach and Cappy's family before it's too late? Find out in our next chapter. Yes, most of this is recycled from the first part of the game, but trust me, there will be a lot of things that'll make this story more unique and stand out from the game. I love the game, but I think there were a few missed opportunities such as character interaction, character appearances like Luigi, Daisy Wario, Waluigi, etc. And let's not forget, cutscenes with Bowser and Peach. I wondered what those two did while Mario was rocking his boxer shorts._

_Anyways, stay tuned for "Chapter 2: Mario and Cappy."_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_This might sound strange, but I do like Princess Peach as a character. I am a big fan of her. Why? Because I see a lot of potential for growth in the character. That, and she was one of my personal favorites in Smash Bros and she was also my childhood crush. One of the things I want to do is focus on the dynamic on Peach and Mario as well as focus on the former manning up as the hero she was born to be. Expect her to step up and crush her enemies from time to time._

_Yes, Cappy and Tiara have a father for this story. I decided to add that OC because one of my head cannons is that Bowser's hat was a Bonnetor that was captured by the Koopa Empire. I doubt that is true, but I like to think that is the case._

_Overall, that does it for this first chapter. Let me know what your thoughts are so far. Give me constructive criticism, but NO FLAMES! Flames will not be tolerated here. I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see y'all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	2. Mario and Cappy

_**A/N:** Wow, I didn't this story to get so popular after the first day it was published. That was pretty awesome to see. Special thanks to FrenchMarioBros, Gemini-Spark, MGFan5, Mariogeek, Pikminfan, TGN, Wurmple, animegamefanatic, breath20k, deandino92, and stephanieeche10 for adding this to their favorites. Special thanks to TGN, Infinite's Ruby, stephanieeche10, FrenchMarioBros, and animegamefanatic for their reviews! And special thanks to all for over 140 views!_

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) World Bowser - Super Mario 3D World OST_**

**_(2) Broodals Battle - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**Mario and Cappy**

Princess Peach couldn't be any less excited.

She and Bowser just landed in Bowser's new and improved kingdom, which was made up of giant castles inspired by Japanese culture. The giant castle that they were entering was a lush, flowering fortress, with a concentric series of walls and baileys, a traditional garden and tea house, and a central keep. Instead of the usual lava that would be in most of Bowser's castles, its moats were filled with poison.

Bowser opened the door of the castle; he held Peach's hand as the two walked down the hall.

An army of Koopas and Goombas looked at the not-so-happy couple. Bowser was the only one proud to be in this relationship. The Goombas cheered for their boss's soon to be wedding while the Koopas miraculously pulled trumpets out of their shells. Playing celebratory music for the couple, Bowser waved to them and smiled. _**(1)**_

Peach rolled her eyes, feeling to desire to throw up.

The Koopa King and his "wife" exited the hallway, the former waved goodbye to his minions, thanking them for their support.

"Princess Peach," Bowser smiled, patting the princess on the back. "Welcome home!"

"This is not my home!" Peach snarled, pushing Bowser's hand off her back. "I'm not marrying you! How can I after you ruined my date with Mario!? Him and I were enjoying a peaceful dance until _you _showed up!"

"Oh, please," Bowser rolled his eyes. "The only reason he loved you was because you baked him cake."

"And why do _you _love me?" Peach scowled.

"Because I want power!" Bowser smirked, clenching his fist. "With you as my wife, I will be the king of the Mushroom Kingdon… that, and I need you to parent my kids."

"_**W-WHAT!?**_"

"Speaking of which, they should be in this next room,"

Bowser opened the door to the room he'd be getting married in and saw nothing, but entropy.

Junior and the seven Koopalings were running around the room, making a mess out of everything that was nicely decorated. Morton and Roy were throwing burger patties around the area, screaming.

"It's raw!" Morton shouted, laughing.

"It's bloody raw!" Roy chuckled, throwing a burger at Morton's face.

Wendy was talking on her flip phone while riding her Clown Car around the room. "No, I can talk, I'm just driving."

Junior, Larry, and Iggy were playing video games on Junior's Nintendo Switch; the three of them were playing a game called _"Arms." _As soon as Junior's character won the match against Larry's character, the Koopaling with the spikey blue hair got annoyed.

"Junior, I can't believe you cheated!" he shouted.

"Hey, let me tell you something, Larry," Junior said, putting a hand on Larry's shoulder. "Get good."

The blue-shelled Koopa tackled Bowser's second in command, beating him up. Iggy ran after his brothers and chanted, "Fight, fight, fight, fight!"

The only responsible (or at least he was trying to be) one around here… was Ludwig Von Koopa.

"Wendy, don't use the phone while driving!" Ludwig shouted. "Junior, Larry, you two stop fighting right now! Iggy, stop cheering them on! Morton, Roy, for Geno's sake, quit shouting that the burgers are raw! They're not raw, they're _well done!_"

His brothers and sister didn't listen.

"Wow, you really need help with _that?_" Peach said sarcastically. To which Bowser was aggravated. Steam poured right out of his ears and fire spewed from his mouth. Gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, and shaking his body, he disrupted the chaos.

"_**SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!**_" _**(1s)**_

Every Koopaling dropped into dead silence when they heard their dad. Nobody moved an inch.

Bowser retained his equanimity before asking his eight kids what was going on. "Would you mind explaining to me why the place looks like the aftermath of a boss fight?"

Junior and the Koopalings exchanged looks of fear. How could they respond to that?

"Um… dad, we could explain… you see- "

Bowser shook his hand as well as his hands. "You know what? I don't wanna know. Did you get the supplies I needed from those kingdoms?"

Junior and the Koopalings looked each other again in confusion.

"The what, dad?" Roy asked.

"Those supplies?" Bowser asked. "You know, the ring? That dress? That bouquet of flowers from that garden? Did you get them?"

Bowser's children sat in dead silence again. They all gasped silently and gave nervous sounds a response to their dad's query.

"You see, dad," Junior replied in a nervous tone. "We sort of… might have… forgot."

Bowser stared at his children for no less than a second.

"It was all Ludwig's fault!" Wendy pointed.

"How's it my fault!?" Ludwig retorted.

"You're the one that's supposed to be keeping us in check!" Wendy said.

"I was doing just that, you dullard!"

"This dullard burger is still raw!" Morton laughed.

Bowser opened up his mouth and shot a ball of fire at Morton's burger, burning it to a crisp. The Koopalings ducked out of the way until their dad stopped his rampage. Morton looked up at the burger, which was completely nonexistent.

"Little too crispy, dad," Morton said.

"You incompetent fools!" Bowser snarled. "I _cannot _trust you to do the simplest of tasks!"

"Relax, dad," Iggy said. "We'll just head to those kingdoms and gather the materials."

"It's too late for that," Bowser said, rubbing his head. Princess Peach folded her arms, unamused that Bowser planned a wedding and didn't think that his idiot children would screw it up. "I need you guys to get measured for your wedding suits. Lucky for me, I always have a Plan B. Lemmy, being me the phone book!"

"You got it, dad, hee-hee!" Lemmy giggled. He brought the phone book straight to Bowser. The Koopa King adjusted his white suit before grabbing the house phone off the wall. He opened the book and tracked down a headline that said, _"Ya got a weddin'? Call Da Broodals: Da Best Wedding Planners' in the business. Don't delay, chump, call today!"_

Bowser typed in their number.

As he did that, Junior approached Peach, wanting to give her a hug.

"Hi, Mama Peach,"

"Shut up!"

Bowser finally got ahold of someone on the other side of the phone.

"_Hello?" _said the man on the phone.

"Are these the Broodals?" Bowser asked.

"_Nah, man, these are not __**the **__Broodals. These are __**Da **__Broodals. Topper speaking, how can I help ya?"_

"I'm getting married today and my dingus children forgot to the supplies I needed. I need you all to travel to a few kingdoms and fetch my materials for me."

"_How many kingdoms ya talkin'?"_

"Four."

"_Hmm… it's gonna cost ya,"_

"I figured. How about I give you… 9999 coins. Sound like a plan?"

Topper hung up the phone.

"Hello?" Bowser asked. "Hello?... they hung up on me!"

Something tapped him on the shell. Bowser turned around and was startled by the presence of four rabbits. One of them was a short rabbit wearing a green suit, the other one was fat and wore dark blue, one was a female who wore a purple dress, and the other one was a tall, slender, one that wore suspenders. Together, they were known as Da Broodals.

"Sorry to scare ya there, boss," Topper, the bunny in the green suit, said. "Ya really gonna give us 9999 coins, sounds a bit pricy, but hey, I ain't complainin'."

"Whatever it takes to have my proper wedding," Bowser said. He took something out of his drawer; it was a map. He opened it up, revealing all the kingdoms that were near his area. "Here's a map of all the kingdoms you need to go to, find their supplies and come back to this spot."

Topper took the map and analyzed it. So did his friends. "All righty, boss, ya got yourself a deal."

Suddenly, a Koopa came into the room with a letter. He rushed over to Bowser and handed him the piece of paper.

Bowser took the envelope and opened it, revealing a picture of Mario and Cappy.

"Who took that picture, a Goomba?" Junior asked. "They have no arms!"

"Shoot, I should have known he'd still be alive," Bowser grunted, crumbling up the picture and throwing it away. Peach pulled the picture out of the trash can, revealing Mario and Cappy's features. She smiled. "I should warn you, Broodals, if you ever see a short Italian man, be careful, he can be pretty dangerous."

"Ha! That little plumba's no match for Da Broodals," Topper replied with a cocky grin. He turned his attention to the Broodals behind him. "Come on, ladies, we got work to do!"

The Broodals walked outside Bowser's door, making their way to their airship. Bowser folded his arms and grinned. "Wow, that was so easy, I almost feel guilty. Well, I gotta go plan some things out for the wedding. Kids… why don't you play with Mama Peach."

"Really!?" Junior and the seven Koopalings shouted at once. They all turned to Peach, smiling at her with excitement.

"Oh, no," Peach said before all eight of the kids dogpiled on top of her.

"Hey, play nice!" Bowser said before he walked into his room.

* * *

Mario and Cappy emerged from the shadows and entered a room filled with large white structures surrounded by water. In the crystal-clear ponds, frogs were swimming whereas others were standing on white platforms.

The plumber walked up to the edge of the pond, rubbing some cold water on his face. Cappy flew off his head and looked up at the tall, mountain-sized, structures that awaited him and his companion.

"That platform looks to high for us to reach," Cappy said.

"Not to worry," Mario said; he finished cleaning his face. "They don't call me _'Jump Man' _for nothing."

"They don't call you what?" Cappy asked.

Mario took a few steps back, looking up at the tall platform. He cracked his fingers, flexed his muscles, twirled his mustache, and tightened the straps on his blue overalls. He pressed his brown boots against the ground before he took off running.

He jumped, then double jumped, and then triple jumped into the air.

Thinking he was going to reach the platform, he fell, face-first, into the lake.

Frogs that were enjoying a peaceful swim made startled noises, as they hopped out of the water and ran away. Cappy flew down and fished Mario out, placing him on one of the platforms next to him.

"Okay, that didn't go as well as I hoped," Mario said, shaking his head like a dog.

"We're gonna need a _leap _of faith," Cappy winked, looking at the group of frogs.

"Was that a pun?" Mario asked.

"Follow me," Cappy said. Both heroes jumped across the platforms until they landed on solid ground. They were observing a group of frogs look for some bugs to eat. Cappy rubbed his stubby hands together before landing on Mario's head. "Throw me at the frog,"

"Wait, what?" Mario raised an eyebrow.

"You have to trust me on this," Cappy replied. "Do you trust me?"

"Y-yes, but…"

"Throw me at the frog. I know what I'm doing."

"Okie-dokie, if you say so," Mario replied. He grabbed the hat and tossed him on the frog's head.

At first nothing happened… until Mario couldn't feel the ground below his feet.

"What the!? What's-a going on!?" Mario shouted in both fear and question. He felt his body atomize into small cubes; he thought he was disintegrating. Suddenly, he was whisked away into the Frog's head. As soon as he landed inside, he had no idea what was going on. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but pictures of the frog's evolution.

From tadpole to the frog it became today; Mario saw it all.

Not knowing how to respond to this, he waved his arms and legs back and forth as he fell into a ball of light.

"_**MAMMA MIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**_"

* * *

"Ribbit… Ribbit… Ribbit!"

_What the spaghetti?... what was that noise?_

"Ribbit, ribbit!"

_What is that? Am I doing that?_

Mario opened his eyes to find that he was shorter, slimier,… and Cappy and the frog were no were to be found. He looked around for them until he saw something that haunted his soul… He had webbed feet.

This meant that he became the frog.

"Mamma _ribbit _Mia! I'm-a _ribbit _frog!" he shouted in pure fear. He hopped around and landed on a platform, looking at his webbed feet. "Where are my hands!? Where are my feet!? Why is my butt so flat!? Cappy, what did you do to me!?"

"It's weird, I know," Cappy said. "But you're gonna have to get used to it."

"How did you _ribbit _do this?"

"It's a special power us Bonnetors have. To put it shortly, we can posses objects as well as weak-minded enemies as we please. We call this our Capture Abilities. Cool, huh?"

"I liked you better then you can pull levers,"

"That's boring, where's the fun in that?"

Mario chuckled, processing what he just heard. "Okie-dokie, let's-a _ribbit _bounce!" The Mushroom Kingdom hero bounced high in the air, landing on the hill he tried to get on top on before. "Huh, I guess it _is _easy being green."

He kept jumping onto more ledges until he came across a door similar to the one he found earlier.

"Wow, you're a natural," Cappy said, looking down at the frog's bushy mustache. "Here, I think you've had enough of being green for today. Allow me."

Cappy bounced off the frog's head, which resulted into Mario returning into his normal body. The two of them bashed open the door, going through another dark hallway. The captured frog was left dazed, wondering what just happened to him.

A group of other frogs hopped over to him, wondering what happened. They saw stars in his eyes.

"Uh, oh," one of them said. "He must have been messing with that pig again."

* * *

When they reached the other side of the door, Mario and Cappy realized they were on the very top of Top-Hat Tower. They saw more broken battleships and scared Bonnetors that were cowering beside each other. Before the adventurers continued any further, they heard the sound of trumpets.

"Do you hear that?" Cappy asked.

"Yes, mi amico," Mario answered. "What is that?"

The two of them climbed up to the top of the balcony when they suddenly saw a small battleship that resembled Bowser's aircraft. On top of it were four rabbits that were loading boxes of Cap Kingdom branded hats and suits. The two heroes looked at each other before walking up to the rabbits.

"Mi scusi!" Mario shouted, pointing the rabbit in green. "What are you doing?"

Topper and the Broodals looked over their shoulders, seeing the plumber and his floating hat.

"Hey!" said the one in blue. "Dat's the guy da boss warned up about, yes?"

"Gawrsh," said the tall rabbit in orange pants and suspenders. "I didn't expect to see him so soon, ya-huck!"

"Buzz off, plumber" the female scoffed. "This is our treasure!"

"That treasure belongs to the Cap Kingdom!" Cappy retorted. "You have no right to have it!"

"Who are you guys anyway?" Mario asked.

The Broodals exchanged sneers and giggles before they introduced themselves.

"Da boss warned us there'd be a fella with a mustache coming along! Guess we oughta introduce ourselves. We'd da wedding planners for da happy couple. I'm Topper!" the rabbit in green chuckled.

"I'm Spewart!" the one in blue burped.

"The name's Rango, ya-huck!" the rabbit in orange said.

"And I'm Hariet!" the female smiled.

"And together, _we're __**Da Broodals!**_" they all chimed in.

"The Broodals?" Mario and Cappy asked one another.

"Not _the _Broodals, _da _Broodals!" Topper corrected them. "Anyways, you're too late! We already got da treasure we need from dis kingdom. Although, roughing up goodie-two-shoes losers like yourselves was part of the contract, so I guess we gotta deal with ya for a bit."

Topper jumped off the ship, spawning three extra green hats on his real one. "Come on, plumba boy, show me Whatcha got!" _**(2)**_

Mario took Cappy and sat him on his head. "You picked a fight with the wrong plumber, furball!" he reached into his pocket and found a Fire Flower. He ate it and transformed into Fire Mario. Cappy flew off his friend's head, watching the plumber's clothes change from red and blue to white and red.

"What the?" Cappy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Before he could ask Mario what the new change in clothing was all about, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom shot three fireballs at the rabbit. Topper leaped to the side, evading all three shots. He stuck his tongue out at Mario before he dodged more orbs of fire.

"Hold still!" Mario snarled, he clapped his hands together and created a wave of fire. He aimed it at Topper, but when he shot it, he missed. "Oh, come on!"

"Ha-ha!" Topper laughed at the hero's poor aim. He landed behind him and kicked him in the back. Mario tumbled across the white grass, landing on his side. Mario recovered before he was suddenly hit by one of Topper's hats.

Topper hit Mario with his other two hats before kicking him into the air. Cappy gasped and flew up to save Mario. But as soon as he got up there, the green-suited rabbit slammed Mario into the ground with his feet.

Mario's fire power went away after that attack.

Topper landed beside him, snickering. Before he could deliver the final blow, Cappy came in and pushed the rabbit away from the plumber. Topper tripped on his feet, landing on his back.

"Topper, ya clumsy oaf!" Spewart chuckled.

"Shut up!" Topper snarled.

"Mario, are you okay?" Cappy asked.

Mario got up on his knees, panting. "I'm-a fine!... He's pretty tough. Even with the Fire Flower's powers, I couldn't touch him. Got any ideas?"

"I have one," Cappy said. "Throw me at his hats."

"Got it!" Mario gave the Bonnetor a thumbs up.

Topper jumped on his feet and respawned his three hats. He tossed them at the heroes. To which they dodged out of the way. Mario threw Cappy at the hats, making them vanish in thin air. Mario then jumped on top of Topper's head, hurting the rabbit. He jumped off and landed beside him.

"Stupid little runt!" Topper snarled; his hats returned to him. He threw them again, but Mario and Cappy's teamwork overpowered his attack. "Stop moving!"

Mario jumped on Topper's head again; the rabbit groaned in pain.

"What are ya doin', boss?" Rango asked.

"Stop acting stupid and kick him already!" Hariet grunted.

"I need something to eat," Spewart commented.

"Will all of you stop talking!?" Topper screamed. Mario jumped on his head again. He was able to kick Mario in the chest, sending him rolling across the grass. But thanks to Cappy, Mario recovered with ease; he ran back into the fight.

Topper formed what he hoped would be the final set of hats that would kill Mario, and he threw him around the arena. All three hats circled in on the plumber, but Cappy flew around Mario in a circle, shielding him from the hats.

Mario made the final blow on Topper's head, knocking the rabbit onto his back. _**(2s)**_

"_Argh!_" Topper grunted. He jumped back onto his battleship, waving goodbye to the heroes. "You may have won dis round, but now this, chump! You won't be so lucky next time!"

The Broodals flew away, leaving Mario and Cappy by themselves.

"Don't worry," Cappy said to Mario. "We'll catch up to them soon. I have a feeling we'll be seeing them from time to time."

"I couldn't agree more," Mario nodded. He then looked over to an electric power line across from him. He didn't notice it during the fight; it must have popped up after the quarrel concluded. "What's-a that?"

"That… is our ticket to the next kingdom. Throw me on that electric orb."

Mario complied, and together, as a ball of electric energy with a mustache and a red cap, the two ventured off the neighboring kingdom, unaware of what dangers and mysteries lie ahead.

_**END OF CHAPTER 2**_

* * *

_Mario and Cappy have encountered Bowser's new wedding planners, The Broodals, and it looks like they're going to be running into them a lot during their adventure. But luckily for them, a new companion awaits in the Cascade Kingdom. Who will this companion be? We shall find out soon enough in the next chapter. I do apologize for the lack of music here, I couldn't find any good choices for some of the other scenes. But anyways, when we return, we will be entering..._

_"Chapter 3: Our First Power Moon."_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_If anyone out here is a fan of the Muppets, then I hope you enjoy two Kermit the Frog references in here. _

_As always, special thanks for all the favorites and follows, don't forget to leave your thoughts and criticisms below. I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321) _


	3. Our First Power Moon

_**A/N:** Hi, everyone! Sorry this took a long time to update. School and other activities have made it difficult for me to write this chapter. I want to thank those that have reviewed the previous two chapters and everyone who favorited and followed._

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Cascade Kingdom (Fossil Falls) - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(2) Thanos Theme Suite - Avengers: Infinity War OST_**

**_(3) Family - Super Mario Galaxy OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**Our First Power Moon**

Mario was screaming as loud as a banshee as the yellow bolt of electricity made its way over to the next kingdom. He zoomed across the powerlines as high speeds; he felt he was going as fast as someone he knew from the Olympic Games.

Eventually, he reached the end of the line. To which he shot into the air.

Screaming and waving his hands, the plumber fell, face-first, against the ground.

Cappy dismounted from his companion's head, wondering if he was okay.

Pulling his face from the ground, Mario was in awe to see that this kingdom had a breathtaking waterfall that roared as loud as some of the monsters he's faced in the past, and that on the top was a dinosaur skeleton. The area was mostly covered in fresh green grass and there were fossils and strange pictures of Mario and Peach in their cat suits sculpted into the cobblestones.

Mario got up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. Amazed by the beautiful scenery, the plumber smiled. _**(1)**_

"Wow! What a ride!" Cappy smiled "And we made it to the Cascade Kingdom!"

"T-that's a pretty good," Mario replied, vibrating as he spoke.

"You okay, Mario?" Cappy asked.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm-a fine," Mario replied, rubbing his head. "Just having a hard time recovering from… whatever _that _was."

"Don't worry, you get used to it," Cappy smiled. "Now, if I remember correctly, there should be a ship we could use to chase after Bowser and our loved ones."

"Any idea where that could be?"

"It should be around here somewhere. Let's take a look."

"Okie-dokie! Let's-a go!"

Mario and Cappy began their journey by running around the grass of the kingdom. As they made their way over to a group of fossils, they saw these tiny, spiky, creatures emerge from the ground. They had huge lips and big eyes. They started limping towards the two adventurers. Mario jumped on one of them, but the spike on them hurt his foot. He screamed and jumped in pain.

Just then, he got the idea to use Cappy to take care of them.

Chucking Cappy at the spiny creatures, he finished them off with ease.

Then, the two heroes jumped on top of a rock and climbed up to an upper level. Running across the grass, they stumbled upon a sandy area with a few rocks and a Chain Chomp. As soon as they got close enough, the ball-shaped creature glared at them. Barking, it lunged at them at rapid speeds.

"Yip!" Mario shouted, as he and Cappy bounced back and saw the Chain Chomp nearly get to them. The chain it was attached to yank the creature back, as it continued patrolling his area.

"What the heck is _that_!?" Cappy asked, slightly afraid.

"Oh, that's-a Chain Chomp," Mario replied. "They're kind of like dogs… sort of."

Cappy raised an eyebrow, wanting to ask another question concerning the monster. But he then looked over to a tall structure that was connected to the bridge. He glanced over to the water and saw there was no pathway present. Eyeballing the structure again, he nodded and thought of an idea.

"See that structure over there?" he asked, and Mario nodded. "It's too big for us to push down by ourselves. Maybe we can use that Chain Chomp to knock it over."

Mario nodded and chucked Cappy on top of the Chain Chomp's head. He jumped inside the creature and took control of him. Looking at the rock structure, he wondered how he could knock it down. Although, it didn't take him long to figure out what he could do. Backing away from the rock, he put enough pressure on the chain. To which it yanked him into the bridge, striking it down on top of the water, creating a pathway. But that's not all that it created.

From the shattered rock emerged an object that shimmered as bright as a Power Star from the Mushroom Kingdom, except it was shaped like a crescent moon. Mario and Cappy jumped off the Chain Chomp, leaving it dazed. They approached the moon; the plumber wondered what it was, but the hat geeked out in amazement.

"No way!" Cappy exclaimed. "Could it be?"

"What the heck is that?" Mario asked. "Looks like a Power Star."

"This ain't no star," Cappy replied. "This… is a Power Moon."

Mario grabbed the object and held it in his hand; its bright yellow glow blinded him. Shielding his eyes, he stored it in his pocket. The two of them proceeded to run down the bridge until they suddenly came across something in the distance. It was a large ship shaped like Cappy's head and it had a few details on it such as a silver railing, a golden orb on the top, and part of what looked like a balloon.

The two heroes stopped and looked at the ship; it was old, muddy, and blanketed with rust.

Cappy hovered towards the ship, inspecting every part about it. "I think this is it! The ship!"

Mario scratched his head. "Seriously? _This _piece of garbage is our key to fighting Bowser?"

"Hey, hey! Don't say that about the Odyssey!"

"The Odyssey?"

"Yeah, that's its name."

"So, how do we turn it on? Assuming it works."

"My father told me that it runs on energy from Power Moons: that moon we just found. Speaking of which, hold it up to the Odyssey and see what happens. According to my calculations, it should jumpstart it."

The red-capped hero did as he was told and took out the Power Moon. He threw it up in the air and watched it go inside the golden globe. Just then, the number one popped up on the balloon, but nothing else happened. Mario shook his head and sighed while Cappy cocked an eyebrow.

"What did I tell you?" Mario said. "Garbage."

"Well, one Power Moon isn't going to activate it," Cappy said. "We're gonna need more if we want to get this thing working. Don't worry, Mario, we'll get our loved ones back in no time!"

"I hope so," Mario sighed.

The Bonnetor looked up and saw that it was getting dark in the Cascade Kingdom. When they arrived, it as close to sunset. The moon was starting to rise from the horizon, gleaming its bright light upon he and Mario. Yawning, Mario stretched his arms and cracked his back.

"Mama Mia," Mario said. "I'm-a getting sleepy,"

"Me too," Cappy said, yawning. "Let's set up camp. We'll look for more Power Moons in the morning." _**(1s)**_

* * *

Later that night, the two explorers have set up a small campfire and have managed to find a couple of blankets in the middle of nowhere. Sitting down and feeling the warmth of the fire brush against their faces, Mario and Cappy looked up into a starry night sky. They spent the rest of the day exploring the Cascade Kingdom, looking for Power Moons, but they have not found any, nor did they find any signs of life aside from those spikey enemies and a couple of Goombas.

Rubbing his hands together, Mario sighed and leaned back on his sleeping bag, as he gazed into the star-covered night.

Cappy lifted a few planks of wood with his hands and placed them in the firepit, watching them burn slowly.

"There," Cappy said, wiping his hands clean. He sat down on his make-shift pillow made of leaves. "That should be plenty of firewood to hold us for the night."

Mario nodded.

"So, Mario," Cappy said, pressing his hands together. "We never got a chance to know one another. Tell me about yourself. What do you do? What's your life like?"

Mario cleared his throat. "Well, my brother, Luigi, and I weren't always heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom. Back in the day, we were the best-a plumbers of New Donk City."

"New Donk City?" Cappy asked. "My parents took me and my sister there once. It was really nice."

"We were called into my ex-girlfriend, Pauline's house," Mario continued, poking the fire with a stick. "She had something stuck in her bathtub. So, Luigi and I checked it out when suddenly… we were sucked down the drain and wound up in the Mushroom Kingdom! It was-a crazy! We were greeted to all these walking mushrooms, talking dinosaurs, giant turtles, and all sorts of crazy stuff!"

Cappy's eyes widened. "Wow! I never knew the Mushroom Kingdom had so many characters!"

"You really have to see it for yourself. Anyways, Luigi and I were tasked by a Toad named Toadsworth with saving a princess named Peach. So, after traveling through eight different worlds, Luigi and I finally met her and… ha ha, boy I tell ya. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!"

"Really?" Cappy chuckled.

"Yep! Not only was she beautiful, but she was so nice! Always taking care of her people, remembers everybody's' name, and she makes the most beautiful cakes. She thanked me for saving her and offered me and Luigi our own house. Eventually, me and Peach became really close friends until… well, I think you can infer what happened next."

The Bonnetor nodded.

"Peach and I would go on our own adventures and we would go on many dates. We also did a lot of things together like kart-racing, signing up for the Olympic games, having Mario Party. I must warn you; Mario Party gets a _little _competitive, and we play-a sports teams! It's-a incredible!"

Cappy rubbed his head and smiled. "Sounds like you and Peach have a close relationship."

"Yep!" Mario nodded happily. But his smile quickly turned into a frown. Lowering his head in guilt, he sighed. "But sadly, Peach and I don't get to spend a lot of time together these days. Bowser's been going nuts with his attacks lately. Couple months ago, he kidnapped a bunch of fairies as a power source for his kingdom. And before that, he kidnapped Peach for the millionth time! And earlier today… earlier… he… he…"

"He what?"

Reaching into his pocket, Mario pulled out the wedding ring he was going to give to Peach. "He proposed to her right before I could."

Cappy gasped.

Mario nodded. "Luigi helped me plan out my proposal. Why? Because I was-a nervous. This was the first time I've ever proposed to somebody before. I mean, Pauline and I thought about, but we decided we weren't ready yet. Peach and I are like two peas in a pod. Sure, we'd have an argument once or twice, but… we were always there for each other… I wanted to be closer to her, but Bowser had to come and screw everything up!" He slammed his fists against the grass. "I know Bowser does this normally, but he's gone too far this time!"

Cappy was silent. He felt awful that a monstrous turtle kidnapped his friend's soon-to-be wife. Tapping his hands together, he imagined how Peach must be feeling right now.

Mario opened his eyes and saw that his new companion was in distraught.

"Mama Mia," he said. "I'm-a so sorry, Cappy. I was hoping I'd make my backstory a little happier before it went dark."

"No, that's all right," Cappy said. "Just hearing that turtle's name again makes me remember when he attacked my kingdom."

"Yeah, you never went into detail about that," Mario said. "If you don't-a mind, could you tell me what happened?"

Cappy sighed, closing his eyes. "It was peaceful day in the Cap Kingdom… when all of a sudden," _**(2)**_

* * *

_~Flashback_

Fire.

Flames.

Ashes.

The Cap Kingdom was under attack by the Koopa Empire.

All over the arable land, Bullet Bills dropped from large battleships and exploded when they touched the ground. As they blew up into pieces, dozens of Bonnetors were running for their lives. Some of them gathered alongside their families and retreated to their hat-shaped ships, hoping to strike back against the intruder's forces.

King Bowser, who was walking across the land with Junior and the seven Koopalings by his side, noticed that some of the hats were fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. Adjusting his large, white and purple tuxedo, he ordered his battleships to shoot down the hats.

Falling one by one, the ships landed on the ground so that no one could escape. Luckily, there were no civilian casualties, as the Bonnetors retreated before their homes burnt to ash.

Sitting in Bowser's clutches was Tiara: Princess of Bonneton. She had just been captured by the Koopalings after trying to save her kingdom. Approaching her, Bowser sneered as he grabbed the Bonnetor with his hand. Holding her tight, he laughed as he analyzed her characteristics.

"_You'd make a perfect crown for my wife,"_ he grinned. _"That gold one she has now is so dingy."_

"_But I thought you said it looked nice on her,"_ Ludwig replied.

"_Shut up, Ludwig," _Bowser snarled.

Before he could take her hostage, he was suddenly stopped by a voice. _"Let her go, tyrant!"_

It was an elder.

Turning around, Bowser saw that an old gentleman was making his stand. He was an older fellow; a white-colored top hat with a bushy mustache and thick eyebrows. His ghost-like body was thicker than other Bonnetors and his eyes were green. He huffed at the turtle's attempt at taking his daughter.

"_What do we have here?"_ Bowser asked.

"_Just some old fart, Dad,"_ Junior replied, twirling his paint brush. _"I'll take care of him!"_

Bowser placed a hand on his son's shoulder. _"Hold on, son… allow me,"_

Coming near the beret, Bowser walked around him and began talking.

Cappy was hiding behind a bush, watching the beret stare at the turtle. _"Dad," _the Bonnetor whispered.

"_Who do you think you are coming up to me like this?" _Bowser asked. His tone was blunt.

"_I'm the king of this kingdom: King Beret," _the mustached-hat answered. _"And how __**dare **__you come over here and threaten me!? I could have you arrested!"_

"_Doesn't look you have many forces to do so," _Bowser said, gesturing the unconscious soldiers and broken battleships. _"You're probably wondering why I'm here. You see, I'm putting together a wedding, but I need a secret weapon to defeat a certain foe who'll get in my way! I've studied your kind, your highness, you and your people are extremely gifted."_

"_Then, why are you taking my daughter!?" _King Beret snarled, shaking his stubby hand.

"_Isn't it obvious, you old idiot? I need a new crown for my soon-to-be wife, and your daughter is perfect for the role!"_

"_You fiend, I will never let you take my daughter! Even if I breathe my last, as a father, I will do everything I can to protect my daughter!"_

King Beret then did something Bowser didn't expect to see; the floating hat suddenly shot out a pair of mechanical arms with two boxing gloves attached to them. Bowser's eyes shot out of his sockets; did that hat just pop out giant arms?

King Beret stormed over to the giant turtle and started beating his chest like a professional boxer.

Morton and Roy were about to assist their dad, but Ludwig stopped them both.

"_Don't… let him have his fun."_ He said. Both Koopalings halted.

Bashing and thrashing against Bowser, King Beret fired an uppercut up his chin. The fancy-suited turtle flew backward before he landed on his shell. Getting back up, he found himself amazed yet amused that a Bonnetor had mechanical arms meant for combat. He wiped his mouth and got back up.

King Beret fired another punch, but Bowser caught it this time.

Gulping, King Beret was punched in the face. He held his eyes with his hands, as Bowser attacked him.

Cappy closed his eyes and covered them with his hands, though he did keep one eye open. Shockingly, his father was losing. Bowser punched King Beret three times before smacking him with his knee. King Beret huffed and puffed, as he tried to gather the strength to fight back. Picking the weakened king off the ground, Bowser held him up for all to see.

Civilians gasped as they witnessed the defeat of their king. Tiara's eyes watered, as she cuddled her hands into her face. Cappy cowered behind the bush. Bowser smirked, as he slammed the king into the black/white ground.

King Beret was defeated; he was knocked unconscious.

Bowser grabbed the king's left arm and lifted him up again. "I like you."

King Beret opened one of his eyes and groaned.

"If you want your daughter to remain safe, then you should become part of my army," he told the wounded king. "I'm in the market for a new hat and you look like you're good at throwing at a certain pesky plumber."

King Beret glanced at his people; all of them were scared. He thought that if he fought back, he would just make the fear inside his people much worse. He blinked slowly, feeling pain as he did so, and he looked up into the turtle's red/orange eyes. His mustache drooped as well as his eyes. He finally gave his response to the turtle, as he saw his only son hiding behind a bush.

"I… accept,"

"Seriously?" Bowser asked, shocked. "Okay."

Bowser grabbed the hat and walked back to his airship with the Koopalings. They all boarded, and the doors closed. Cappy gasped at the top of his lungs and rushed to save his family. But before he got to the ship, it lifted off the ground and began to take off with the others. Looking up at the speeding ship, Cappy snarled in anger and gave chase.

"_Don't worry, Dad, Tiara!" _Cappy said; a tear dropped from his eye. _"I'm coming to save you!" **(2s)**_

* * *

_~Present Day **(3)**_

Mario was flabbergasted when he heard that entire story. A proud father, who ruled over a kingdom he's never heard of before, fought bravely to save his children. Saddened that the king surrendered himself just to save his daughter, Mario sighed and noticed that Cappy had some salty tears pouring down his cheeks.

"I… felt so useless," Cappy cried softly, as he wiped his eyes. "I-I just sat there in t-that bush, w-watching it all go down… I d-didn't know what to do… It's my fault my father and sister got captured… h-how could I have been so stupid?"

Cappy wasn't stupid. Mario knew he was scared. But like what he taught Luigi; fear can always be conquered. Mario smiled and pulled the Bonnetor in a warm hug. Wrapping his arms around the hat, Mario gave a small motivational talk.

"Listen, Cappy," he began. "You're not-a useless. You were-a scared, so it makes sense. Fear took control of your body… but if there's one thing I taught my brother, Luigi… it's that you always find the time to face your fears. He's still afraid of ghosts and other things, but when the situation is-a dire, he knows when to step up and be a hero… that's what I love most about Luigi. He'll always be there no matter how scared he is."

Cappy released himself from Mario's hug and wiped his eyes; he sniffed. "What's your point, exactly?"

"My-a point is… I know you're scared of Bowser, but you were brave enough to follow his airship to the Mushroom Kingdom. Sure, my downfall took you a few steps back, but now you've got a partner to help you out!" Mario smiled, pointing at himself. "And I'm-a gonna do everything I can to help you get your family back!"

Wiping his eyes for the last time, Cappy found himself smiling. He _did _make a new friend during his pursuit and that friend wanted to help. And the Bonnetor himself wanted to do the same for his companion. He flew around the plumber and gave him a high-five.

The two shared a laugh before they got ready for bed.

"Thank you, Mario… I needed that," Cappy smiled. He closed his eyes and went to sleep. "Good night."

"Buona notte, mi amico," Mario smiled. He closed his eyes and went to bed. _**(3s)**_

* * *

The next morning, Mario felt something breathing down his face.

"Peach, will you stop-a breathing in my face?" he moaned, as he turned around in his sleep. "It's-a disgusting."

Unlike him, Cappy was awake and he was petrified. He rushed behind Mario and shook his body. "Mario!... Mario, come on, wake up!... Wake up, we got trouble!"

"No, Madre. I don't want to go to school today." Mario replied with a smile.

Cappy rubbed his hands and shouted. "_GET UP!_"

"Mama Mia!" Mario shouted, as he shot himself on his feet. He rubbed his overalls and looked at the hat. "What's-a matter with you?"

Cappy grabbed Mario's face and pointed him in the direction he was looking at; the latter gasped and took a few steps back.

Standing in front of the two explorers was an army of Toads dressed as cavemen. They were mushrooms with various-colored spots on their heads. But every single one of them (even the females) had beards. For attire, they wore cheetah skin and skulls for hats. Not only did they have bushy beards, but that had messy, wickedly curled, hair. For weapons, they were all armed with spears.

Backing up, Mario and Cappy held their hands up in peace.

"Uh… good morning," Mario gave an awkward smile. "Can we help you fellas?"

The cavemen whispered to each other, as they walked closer to the heroes.

From their tone, it was clear that they were angry. Walking towards the duo, they raised their spears and pointed them at the heroes. Mario grabbed Cappy and placed him on his head, ready for a fight. But before he could do anything, he heard a voice come from the cliff above him.

"I'm-a Luigi, number-a one!"

Mario raised an eyebrow before he smiled. "I know that-a voice!"

Out of the blue; the green plumber named Luigi hopped down with his Poltergust 5000 on his back. He raised the vacuum and pressed a button on his back. A huge gust of air sucked four of the Cave-Toads inside, and Luigi shot them back into their friends. They all went down like bowling pins after being hit by a bowling ball. He turned to his brother with a warm smile.

"Mario!" he called.

"Luigi!" the red-capped plumber ran up and fist-bumped his brother. "Mio fratello! Come stai?"

"Sto bene, Mario!" Luigi replied. "Come stai?"

"Eh, my day could be better," Mario responded. He was about to tell Luigi the story of Peach's capture, but a spear flew against the wall behind them. Both brothers gasped, as they realized the cavemen they knocked down got back up. Mario and Luigi glanced at each other before they exchanged smirks.

Mario tightened his hat and Luigi raised his Poltergust 5000.

The cavemen raised their spears and made a weird battle cry with their mouths. They raced towards the duo.

The Super Mario Brothers lunged into battle. Both shouted, "_LET'S-A GO!_"

_**END OF CHAPTER 3**_

* * *

_Luigi have invited himself to the party. He and Mario are gonna show those Cave-Toads who's boss! But why are the natives of the Cascade Kingdom attacking them? Were they sent by someone to do this? If so... who? A lot went down in this chapter in terms of character development. We got to hear pieces of Mario's story as well as how Cappy's family got captured. Luigi will tag-along for the ride, as he hopes to help both his brother and the Bonnetor. Find out as out heroes duke it out with the natives in..._

_"Chapter 4: Caveman Rumble!"_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_Mario's explanation as to how he and Luigi got to the Mushroom Kingdom is a callback to the intro of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. I know some people hate that show for how stupid it is and believe me, it IS stupid. But I still find some joy in it. It's a guilty pleasure like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog._

_As much as I love Super Mario Odyssey, I feel that Luigi should have been a unlockable character to play as like how he was in Super Mario Galaxy, 3D Land, and couple of other games that allowed you to unlock/play as him. I thought that if you get a certain amount of Power Moons, you would unlock him, but sadly, that is not the case. Ah, well. At least Balloon World's pretty fun and the fact that Luigi looks pretty good in a bow-tie._

_Yes, I did make an OC for this story in the form of King Beret. I figured I would give Bowser's hat an origin story. It's probably not true, but hey, I just wanted to express imagination. ;)_

_As always, tell me what you liked and what needs to be improved. I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	4. Caveman Rumble!

_**A/N:** Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been such a long time since updates. School and other things have kept me busy. But thankfully, it seems I have everything under control now and I have to say, I'm amazed at how many people want more of this story. No seriously, I'm shocked that we have over **20 reviews, 18 favs, and 14 follows! **That means a lot in my book! Special shoutout to everyone who has favorited and reviewed this story and I promise, I won't be long with the next update. As I plan to spend some time on this story, my Sonic story "Awakened," and my original series on FictionPress._

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Boss Battle - Mario and Luigi: Dream Team OST_**

**_(2) Sad Story - Super Mario Galaxy OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**Caveman Rumble!**

Out of the blue; the green plumber named Luigi hopped down with his Poltergust 5000 on his back. He raised the vacuum and pressed a button on his back. A huge gust of air sucked four of the Cave-Toads inside, and Luigi shot them back into their friends. They all went down like bowling pins after being hit by a bowling ball. He turned to his brother with a warm smile.

"Mario!" he called.

"Luigi!" the red-capped plumber ran up and fist-bumped his brother. "Mio Fratello! Come stai?"

"Sto bene, Mario!" Luigi replied. "Come stai?"

"Eh, my day could be better," Mario responded. He was about to tell Luigi the story of Peach's capture, but a spear flew against the wall behind them. Both brothers gasped, as they realized the cavemen they knocked down got back up. Mario and Luigi glanced at each other before they exchanged smirks.

The former tightened his hat the latter raised his vacuum.

The cavemen raised their spears and made a weird battle cry with their mouths. They raced towards the duo.

The Super Mario Brothers lunged into battle. _**(1)**_

With one quick punch and a kick, Mario grabbed one of the cavemen with his hands and spun them around in a circle. Before he knew it, he chucked him into five of his comrades before he evaded to the left, avoiding a spear. Grabbing Cappy off his head, he lunged the Boonetor into a set of Cave-Toads, knocking them off their toes. Mario caught his cat and turned around, only to see that a sharp spear was heading right towards him. He dodged to the left, grabbed the spear, and fired an uppercut against the Cave-Toad's chin.

Mario's attack was so strong, purple coins were produced when the plumber punched the caveman's chin.

Landing on the ground, Mario turned around and saw that his brother was in danger.

"Luigi!" he shouted, as he rushed over to help.

"Not to worry, Bro," Luigi shook his head. "I-a got this!"

Turning on his Poltergust 5000, the green-hatted plumber stunned six Cave-Toads with his Strobulb before he bounced on top of their heads. He avoided spears faster than the speed of light, as he slid between a Cave-Toad's legs and tripped him off his feet. Luigi then sucked the toad into his vacuum before shooting him to the right.

The Cave-Toad fell straight against the Odyssey's side.

"Be careful with that!" Cappy pleaded. "That's a priceless relic!"

Confused, Luigi kicked one Cave-Toad before he turned to his brother.

"Mario, did you say something?"

"What was that, Luigi?" Mario inquired, as he spun another Cave-Toad around and threw him towards his brother. To which, Luigi smacked him with his vacuum like a baseball bat hitting a ball.

"Was that you who said that? Your voice suddenly changed."

"Hang on, I'll-a explain later."

Mario and Luigi sided together and watched as the number of Cave-Toads increased.

Surrounding both brothers, the caveman chuckled evilly, as they aimed their spears at their opponents. They began murmuring an unknown language.

"Mama Mia," Luigi shivered. "I don't think the Poltergust is gonna fit all these guys."

"That's okay," Mario smirked. "Because _I _always-a have a backup plan. Do you remember Swing Bros, Luigi?"

"Don't want to."

"Come on, just do it."

"No way! It makes me dizzy!"

"Please… Mio Fratello." Mario mimicked the puppy dog eyes, as he folded his hands together.

With a low sigh and a stern look to his brother, Luigi rolled his eyes and cracked his fingers. "Fine."

Walking a few steps forward, Luigi turned around and dived towards his brother.

Reaching his hands out, Mario caught Luigi and began spinning him around as fast as he could, forming a blue, red, and green tornado in the process. The Cave-Toads were confused, but they kept approaching the heroes with their weapons in hand.

Unfortunately, they had no idea what was coming to them.

Mario suddenly released his brother and watched as the mustached hero shot towards the Cave-Toads like a rocket. Luigi went around and kicked every Cave-Toad around him before he suddenly locked hands with his brother. The two of them jumped up and continued spinning around, knocking every single enemy into the air. Some of the Cave-Toads were too scared to face the brothers, so they dropped their weapons and ran away; others scolded them for being such cowards. Mario and Luigi continued their spin attack before they bashed one more Cave-Toad against the wall; a couple of boulders fell onto the ground.

"Ooga, Ooga, Ooga!" one of the cavemen shouted, as everyone else abandoned their spears and took off running.

Both brothers stopped spinning and landed on their feet.

They observed the cavemen's retreat. _**(1s)**_

"M-mama Mia," Luigi stuttered, as he felt his brain bounce up and down. "Haven't done that since we were in the Beanbean Kingdom."

Mario chuckled before he gently tapped his brother's shoulder. "Yep, just like-a old times."

The two Mario Brothers suddenly engaged in a hug.

"Good to see you again, Luigi. How have you been?"

"I've-a been pretty good. Just helping Professor E. Gadd clean out his garage. After that Dark Moon incident in Evershade Valley, his whole laboratory's been a mess."

During the conversation, Luigi's Polterpup jumped out of his vacuum and leaped on top of Mario.

"Gah!" Luigi jumped back, startled. He then chuckled once he saw his dog licking Mario's face.

"Hey, doggy!" Mario laughed, as the Polterpup licked his face non-stop. "Hey! Hahahahahahaha! Down, boy! Hahahahahahahaha! It's good to see you too!"

"Egon, down boy!" Luigi calmed his dog town by pointing a finger at the ground. The Polterpup did as told and he sat down on his rear. To which his owner took out a dog treat and gave it to him. The ghostly canine scarfed it down.

"Egon?"

"Yeah, I decided to give him a name. Cute, huh?"

"Were you watching a certain movie while you were naming him?"

"I cannot confirm nor deny that fact-" Luigi was suddenly distracted by a pair of eyes on his brother's cap. Cappy transformed back to his normal self and waved at the plumber.

"Hello, there-"

"_GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ A floating hat ghost!"

"Wait, what?" Mario raised an eyebrow. He looked up and saw who his brother referred to. He chuckled. "Oh, no, no, Luigi. This is-"

"Hang on, Bro! I'm-a save you!"

In an instant, the Poltergust 5000 sucked the Bonnetor inside.

Mario gasped and cupped his hands over his mouth.

"No, Luigi!" Mario shouted, as he reached for the vacuum. "That's not a ghost! That's-a my new friend, Cappy!"

"Coopy?" Luigi rubbed his head.

"No, not Coopy! Cappy! He and I met a while back in the Cap Kingdom!"

"Cap… Kingdom?"

With a deadpanned look on his face, Mario facepalmed and gave his brother a neutral expression.

"Luigi… let's take a walk."

* * *

After spending a few minutes to an hour walking down the Cascade Kingdom and explaining everything, Mario concluded his story.

"So, we came down to the Cascade Kingdom, where we're gonna take that garbage ship-"

"You mean the Odyssey?" Cappy mumbled.

"Right, the _Odyssey _to save Princess Peach and Cappy's sister, Tiara."

Luigi nodded as he stroked his chin. His Polterpup, Egon, nodded and panted.

"I-a see," Luigi replied. "Sorry about that, Bro. I didn't know he was your new friend."

"That's okay, Luigi," Mario answered. "Now uh… would you mind letting go please?"

"Oh, sure!"

Switching the Poltergust to a different mode, Luigi released Cappy from his capture.

The Bonnetor let out a huge gasp. "Oh, my gosh!... You _do not _want to know what I saw in there!"

"Mi dispiace," Luigi apologized to the Bonnetor. "I-a thought you were a ghost."

Cappy gasped one more time, placing his stubby hand on Mario's shoulder. "That's okay, I guess… Hi, my name's Cappy. It's a pleasure to meet you, Luigi." He offered the hero his stub.

"Nice to meet-a you too," Luigi nodded, as he shook the hat's hand.

"I just-a realized something, Luigi," said Mario, as he rubbed his head. "If you were helping E. Gadd clean out his garage, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I cleaned that out a while ago. Lately, Egon and I have been in the process of saving up money. You see, I want to try to buy another mansion, one that isn't haunted this time, so I decided to make a game!"

"That's-a cool. What game did you make?"

Luigi suddenly whipped out a cart filled with the products related to his game. "Balloons!"

Red, yellow, and blue balloons floated above a grey shopping cart. The strings were attached to the edge of a sign that read, _"Connect Online and Play Luigi's Balloon World!"_

Mario and Cappy exchanged a curious glance.

"Balloon World?" the latter questioned.

"Yeah! It's a minigame where players can choose between two modes, _Find It_ and _Hide It_. In _Hide It _Mode, players have thirty seconds to hide balloons wherever they want to and in _Find It _Mode, players have a specific amount of time to locate the balloons. If they win, they get coins! And if they lose..." the plumber reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "They get this coupon to a restaurant called Geno's… huh, what do you think?"

Mario shared the same look with the Bonnetor.

"Very good, Luigi," he gave a thumbs up.

"Grazie," Luigi smiled, as he placed the coupon away. "I was encouraging some of the locals to play it when suddenly, this fat rabbit with a moon necklace showed up and told them to attack you guys. I-a stood up to the woman and asked her what she wanted with you, but all she did was order the Cave-Toads to attack me. Egon and I got away and were hid behind that rock overnight. Then suddenly, I-a wake up to the sound of the cavemen. That's how I-a managed to find you."

"Fat rabbit?" Mario grunted. He looked at Cappy. "Something tells me she's related to those rabbits that attacked us in the last kingdom."

"I agree," Cappy nodded. "Luigi, you said she had a moon necklace, right? Were the moons yellow?"

"Yes," Luigi replied.

"Did they have black dotted eyes?"

"Yes."

"How many were there?"

"Three, I believe."

Cappy gasped. "Oh, my gosh! That rabbit has a Multi-Moon! I should have known!"

"What's a Multi-Moon?" Mario shrugged his shoulders.

"A Multi-Moon is no different than a standard Power Moon; however, their power is three times stronger than the average one, meaning that it could help us power up the Odyssey! Luigi, did you see where that rabbit went?"

"Last time I checked, she went up above that cliff," Luigi pointed to a giant skeleton arch shaped like a Triceratops. Water flowed down the skeleton's side. Cappy and Mario exchanged a nod while Egon looked curiously at his owner.

"Thanks for your help, Luigi," Mario clapped his fists together. "Come on, Cappy. Let's go get that necklace so we can save our loved ones!"

Before Mario could go, Luigi grabbed the back of his overalls. "Hold on a minute, Bro! Don't think you're leaving without me! It's been a while since you and I have been on an adventure. When was the last time we've been together? That time we went to Pi'illo Island? Come on, Mario! Take me and Egon with you! We want to help save Peach and Tiara too!"

"Bark, bark!" Egon panted.

Without hesitation, Mario grinned, and fist-bumped his brother. "We're-a gonna need all the help we can-a get! Let's-a go!"

"Oh, yeah!" Luigi smiled. As he and his brother marched off into the Cascade Kingdom.

* * *

Meanwhile at Bowser's Kingdom, Princess Peach found herself confused.

She spent a while in the bathroom because she needed to get clean after roughhousing with the Koopalings. They didn't know the definition of play nice with mama. So, she went to the ladies' room to freshen up, but as she went to comb her hair, she found that the hair comb was rather odd.

Instead of being an average hair comb, it was one made out of bones and had Dry Bones' face sticking out the side. The edges themselves were so sharp and pointy, one could cut themselves by first contact. Peach didn't bother to use it, so she chucked it over her shoulder. Leaning against the sink, she turned on the water, took off her crown, and washed her face. The sound of water flowing down the drain reminded her of when she tried to play a _"peaceful"_ game of football with Junior and Morton. And the sound of soap dispensing from the dispenser gave her a painful memory of when Wendy remodeled her makeup.

Looking up in the mirror, Peach noticed that half her face was covered in green marker and the other half was red. She got more soap out and scrubbed her face violently; she didn't want Mario or anyone else to see her like that.

Getting it off, she continued scrubbing her face before she came to a sudden stop.

She froze and gazed at the miserable woman that sat in the mirror. Her hair was frizzy, and her dress was covered in chocolate icing. Peach gave a low sigh before she slammed her fist against the counter.

"Just look at yourself, Peach," she said. "What kind of a princess are you if you can't handle a bunch of kids? I've trained myself for multiple sports games, Olympic games, go-kart races, and more, yet for some reason, I can't handle children. If Toadsworth were here right now, he'd smack me upside the head with his cane and say something like…" she began to mock Toadsworth's voice. "_ 'Listen up, Princess. If you were to become a mother someday, you have to know that children will knock you on your buttocks, but soon enough, you will know how to get back up and become a professional parent.' _"

Gazing into the mirror again, Peach sighed and walked towards the sink, cleaning the rest of her face.

"Listen to yourself, Peach… you've gone looney. Ha, if only Mario could hear-"

Peach's monologue was interrupted by the sound of crying.

"Hello?" the princess looked both left and right. "Is someone here?"

That someone just happened to be right beside the princess.

Peach squinted to her right and saw that her crown was crying. Tears poured down huge eyes like a waterfall. The crown wiped its eyes with its stubby hands, as it swiveled in the opposite direction. She didn't want the princess to see her cry.

"Wait a second… I remember you."

The crown turned around and wiped her eyes. "I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't want you to see me like this."

"I think I remember you," Peach said, as she picked the tiara up and held her in her white-sleeved hands. "Weren't you the one who helped me fight Bowser before?"

The crown sniffed. "Yes, I was… my name's Tiara. I'm from the Cap Kingdom. My father is the king and my brother, Cappy, is the prince, which makes me the princess. Sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier and I'm sorry for what happened to us."

"No, no, don't worry," Peach sighed. "I should be sorry for my rambling. I tend to do that I'm under a lot of stress. My name's Peach: ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. It's nice to meet you." She offered her hand.

"Likewise, your highness. It's an honor," Tiara shook her hand. "I've always wanted to see the Mushroom Kingdom, but my father never let me. But I'm glad to meet you! I'm a huge fan… however, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

"You're telling me," Peach chuckled. "What are you doing here anyway? Why did Bowser take you?"

"He didn't want me; he wanted my father. We Bonnetors hold a special power that the outside world doesn't know about. We consider ourselves a third world civilization, so we prefer to keep our powers a secret. My father and brother have an ability called Capture, which allows them to take control of intruders and other people. They also use their Capture abilities to interact with the environment. They can pull levers, switches, remove wooden poles, and destroy small objects."

"…Wow! That sounds incredible! No wonder why you want to keep these a secret! That's amazing!"

"R-really? Thank you! I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction… though, only my brother and father have this power… I don't."

"Have you tried to Capture things before?"

"Yes, but it never works… My father's tried to teach me a few times, but I always fail."

"Well, you won't know until you try again. One lesson Mario's always taught me was to never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. Meaning that you shouldn't let your failures get to you… get back up and face your challenges like a true fighter."

Tiara smiled when she heard that. "T-thanks, Peach… That means a lot to me… it sounds like you and this Mario character share a lot together. I could tell by the way you two fought against that Bowser guy. Do you go on adventures a lot?"

Peach sighed. If she were a good lair, she would tell the Bonnetor yes. But sadly, she had to admit the cold hard truth. "N-not really… I mean, sometimes I go on adventures with him, but… I'm often trapped in Bowser's clutches."

Tiara raised an eyebrow.

"For the most part, my life is the same thing over and over again… Bowser kidnaps me, Mario comes, they fight, Mario saves me, I bake him a cake, and the whole cycle starts again… It drove me crazy, it made me feel embarrassed. How can a princess protect her own kingdom when she can't even protect herself?... I'm thankful that Mario always saves me, but I don't want him to do all the heavy lifting anymore, I want to fend for myself… thankfully, I realized that a couple of years ago…"

* * *

_~Peach's P.O.V. **(2)**_

A few years ago, Mario saved me from Bowser's clutches.

Now, I know what you're thinking… _Peach, you've been captured by Bowser only to be saved by Mario a bunch of times. What else is new?_

I will admit, that was nothing new; however, what I'm about to tell you is the exact same story… but with a twist.

A few years ago was the Star Festival, a ceremony where a special comet passed over the Mushroom Kingdom once every hundred years, sprinkling multi-colored lights called Star Bits all over the ground. The Toads of my kingdom gathered around my castle's exterior, ready to catch and collect the Star Bits. Why? Because when these items combine together, they form a powerful relic known as the Grand Star. I invited Mario to not only witness the birth of a Grand Star, but because I had a special gift for him planned.

During the festival, I discovered a tiny white star by the name of Luma sitting near the right side of my castle. Not sure how he got there, but I kindly took him in. I wanted to give him to Mario because I thought he and Luigi could help me take care of him, so I sent him an invitation.

Unfortunately, when the ceremony began, Bowser came in with a master plan.

Armed with battleships, Koopa, Goombas, and his son's machinery, Bowser attacked my castle and used his battleships to literally lift it off the ground. I felt like barfing when that happened for the first time. Who would have thought he was so desperate for my love that he's have the gall to steal my own abode? Mario rushed over in an attempt to save me, but thanks to Kamek's supernatural powers, Mario was whisked into the outer reaches of space.

I was angry at the thought that Mario was gone; however, I was more aggravated at myself for doing nothing.

Nothing.

At.

All.

I could've jumped out a window, slid down a Warp Pipe, or I could have escaped into the courtyard, but no! Stupid me had to stay there and watch as Bowser took my castle to his headquarters in space. He had this plan to rule over the entire galaxy thanks to the Power Stars and Grand Stars. During Mario's escapade through space, I sat alongside Bowser, doing nothing but contemplate when Mario was going to rescue me. You know, the kind of stuff you'd expect a damsel in distress like me to do.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Mario and the Luma and I was going to give him to arrive at Bowser's Galaxy Reactor, where my boyfriend and the turtle duked it out in an old fashioned smackdown.

As I watched the fight occur, my brain shouted angrily at me.

_Come on, Peach! You can do it! Go down there and help them! Stop being so useless and do something!... How can you protect your own kingdom when you can't even protect yourself?_

I didn't listen to my brain. I just watched the battle unfold.

Eventually, it came to an end when Bowser's empire collapsed, and Mario and I flew through space. I must admit, it was a magical moment for me, even though it was brief. I reunited with Mario once again and I felt more than happy to get down to Earth, where the two of us can enjoy our moment of peace.

And that's exactly what we did.

With a bright sunny sky and with no cloud to be in sight, Mario and I took a peaceful walk down the grassy fields of my kingdom. Toads and Lumas were partying across the land, as Luigi and Captain Toad told everyone their side of the story.

As I listened, I heard Mario let out a deep breath of satisfaction, as he wrapped one arm around me.

"Mama Mia," he yawned. "Thank goodness that's-a over. Who would have thought there was so much life out in the universe?"

"Yeah," I nodded with a smile, stroking back my blonde hair. "Who would have thought?... Um, Mario… what life did you see exactly?"

He jumped at my query. "Oh-a man! There was everything! I had to ride this annoying ball that kept falling off the edge of a race track, I went to a galaxy where everything's made of toys, I rode a stingray, I raced an obnoxious penguin, I did a few daredevil runs that were kind of annoying, I raced a clone of myself, I met giant bees, I-"

Hearing him talk about this made me envy him.

Why is it that Mario goes on all these adventures and meets new people whereas I get the short end of the stick. In other words, why must I be captured and miss all the fun?

Granted, I had no knowledge at the time that into the future, I would accompany Mario, Luigi, and Goggles (Our nickname for Blue Toad), in saving a bunch of Sprixies from Bowser, but during this time, I really wanted to explore the world as he did. Well, I should've said explore the universe.

As he continued talking about the activities he did and how he met Rosalina, I looked up at a question mark block and stared into the eyes of a coward. A mere damsel whose only ability is baking cakes. She was a good for nothing person, who used a stinking frying pan as a weapon.

A frying pan!? What effect would that have on someone!?

Clenching my fists in anger, I closed my eyes and took a few breaths.

I tried not to show my anger, but I couldn't help myself. A few growls slipped out and my hands were shaking like maracas. _What is my purpose? _I snarled to myself. _To be captured all the time is that it!? Is this all I'm good for?  
_

Even though I attempted to hold it back, a tear slipped from the corner of my eye.

Then came another.

Then another.

Until eventually… they rained down like a hurricane.

"Peach?" I heard Mario asked in a concerned tone, as he rushed over to me and held my hands. "What's-a wrong? Did I-a say something bad?"

"N-no," I sniffed, wiping my eyes. "N-no, it's not y-you… I'm sorry… I just… I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" He smiled gently. "It's okay. Bowser's not gonna get you, he's gone."

"But he'll be back tomorrow," I grunted. "And the same thing will repeat over and over again!"

My eyes were closed, yet I could tell Mario widened his eyes with shock. "What do you mean?"

"It's the same thing with me!" I ranted. "It's the circle of life. Princess Peach wakes up, Bowser takes her, Mario comes, he saves the day, he gets a cake, he and Peach go the bed, the same thing happens again and again and again and again! It's never gonna stop! You're never going to stop saving me!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Mario replied with a frown. "Am I not doing a good job?"

"N-no!" I replied. I think I might have hurt his feelings, which wasn't my intention. "No, no, no…" I started to calm down and I placed my hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said it like that… I didn't mean it."

I froze for a moment of silence.

"It's just… You're always risking your life to save mine… I'm grateful for all that you do for this kingdom, but I feel like every time I get captured, it makes me look like a fool in front of my people," I wiped my eyes and sniffed. "I can't protect my own kingdom let alone protect myself… what kind of princess am I supposed to be if I let my own boyfriend carry my dead weight?"

I saw somber in Mario's bluebell eyes, his jaw slightly dropped. He felt sorry for me, but he had no reason too. I'm the selfish one, letting my significant other and his brother nearly kill themselves for me, so he had no reason to feel sorrow for me.

But… being the good man he is, he lifted up my chin and smiled.

"Peach, look at me," he said softly. "I don't think you're-a useless… you-a do a lot for the Mushroom Kingdom. I've-a seen you command evacuations and order the Toads to keep you and the others safe… that shows you have leadership qualities… plus, didn't you save me a while back when _I _was captured by Bowser? That's gotta mean something, right?"

I can't believe I forgot about the time the roles were reversed.

Chuckling, I wiped my eyes again and smiled. "Y-yeah… I remember that."

"I may not have been there to see the obstacles you went through, but when Luigi told me how you defeated Bowser, that-a showed me you have the potential to be a fighter… you-a just need improvement, that's all."

"…would… would you mind… no, never mind. That's a stupid idea." I turned away and folded my arms.

"What? What's a bad idea?"

Folding my arms, I turned and said. "I was gonna ask if you could train me… you know, teach me more about fighting against enemies… would that be okay with you? You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, I can understand why you wouldn't, but I just thought that you and I could-"

"Peach, Peach, Peach," Mario waved his arms to calm me down. He chuckled at my rambling, which made me blush. Gently wrapping his fingers around my hands, we gazed into each other's eyes and saw that both of us were blushing. And as if the moment between us couldn't get any happier, he said something that I will always remember.

"Of course I'll-a train you."

Smiling, I quickly leaped into Mario's arms and bestowed him with a hug.

He did the same thing to me.

The two of us sat alone underneath the yellow block before we released one another. I didn't want that moment to end so soon, but I had a feeling that if I held on any longer, I would have choked the life out of him.

"So… you wanna start tomorrow?" Mario inquired.

"Y-yeah," I rubbed the back of my head. "Sounds good to me."

From that day on, I promised myself that I would prove myself worthy of being the Mushroom Kingdom's rightful heir.

And I promised myself that if it came down to it, I would fight for myself and my friends.

_~End of P.O.V. **(2s)**_

* * *

"Wow!" shouted an amazed Tiara. "That's one heck of a backstory!"

"Ha-ha… thanks," Peach replied with a chuckle. "Since that day, Mario's been helping me fight against Goombas, Koopas, Chain Chomps, he even taught me how to handle Klepto… I felt like a new person when Mario agreed to train me… he's someone who brought out the best in me."

"I know I said it before, but it sounds like you two have a close connection. And now that I heard that story, it's confirmed that you two care a lot for each other."

"Yeah… But sadly, all of my strength couldn't save you and me from this mess. Now, I'm forced to marry someone I barely share anything with… but I'm not going to let that bring me down, I'm gonna get us out of here."

"What about my father?" Tiara inquired. "He's the hat that sits on top of that Bowser's head."

"Don't worry, Tiara," Peach nodded. "We'll get him back too… but I'm gonna need your help to do it. I probably don't need to ask, but how would feel about helping me escape from this place and free your father?"

It didn't take long for the princess of the Cap Kingdom to accept her destiny. "I'll do it, Peach! You and me, let's do this thing!"

Both girls exchanged a fist bump, a hip bump, and a double high five.

As they exchanged a laugh, a loud knock was heard at the door.

"Peach! Peach, are you in there!?" It was Bowser and he sounded demanding. "Come on, Peach! Open the darn door!"

"Follow my lead," Peach whispered, as Tiara sat on top of her head, closing her eyes. The two of them walked out of the bathroom, where they were greeted by the Koopa King's ugly mug.

"What were you doing in there?" Bowser grunted. "You were supposed to be playing with my kids?"

"Don't get your pants in a bunch," Peach replied, leaning against the door. "I was just using the bathroom."

"But you were in there for two hours."

"So?"

"It doesn't take this long to… you know what, I don't want to get into _that _conversation. The thing is… you don't wander around without my permission. For all I know, you could've gotten lost or worse, you could have escaped! Which would've put all this wedding planning to waste!"

"You're already wasting your time, Bowser. I'm _not _going to marry you."

The Koopa King raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?... Oh, I see. You think you don't have marry me because your little boyfriend, Mario's coming to save you, huh? Well, guess what, princess? He's gone. That little runt is history. I know that picture I got in the mail showed that he and his little hat companion are out there but trust me when I say this… they're never coming to find you. I've sent the highest-paid wedding planners out there to find them." he sneered. "You're stuck with me, princess, whether you like it or not… understand?"

Peach folded her arms. "You don't scare me anymore."

Bowser raised both his eyebrows when he heard that. But he tipped his fat and placed a hand on his hip. "You've changed since the last time we've met."

"Mario's been teaching me how to fight."

"I've noticed when we fought during the last Smash Bros. Tournament… You've grown into quite a strong warrior, it's what I like about you, Peach… but there's one flaw you still retain…"

Peach's smirk wiped off her face. She wondered what flaw Bowser was talking about.

The white-dressed turtle leaned down and spoke softly. "You're selfish."

Peach's arms unfolded. "W-what?"

"You act like you're so tough just because you have combat experience, but here's the cold truth, Princess. Although you were trained by Mario, you still allow him to do all the heavy lifting. He makes all of these sacrificed for you, yet you've never done the same for him."

"That's a lie, I-"

"Rescued him from my Vibe Scepter's capture? Yeah, that doesn't count."

Peach grunted at that comment.

And Bowser continued his speech. "You know, Princess. I'm amazed… even though you've seen Mario do all the work of saving you, you just sit there like the damsel in distress you've always been. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're shaping up to be a pathetic ruler if all you're going to do is let your subjects carry you."

"That's no true!" Peach protested. "I've been able to fight my own battles. I traveled alongside Mario, Luigi, and Goggles, when we traveled to the Sprixie Kingdom to save the Sprixie Princesses from your cold, scaly grasp!"

"Of course you'd say that, Princess," Bowser chuckled. "But I'm not stupid. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that you use Toads as a shield during the last couple of Smash Tournaments we've both been in?"

Peach silently gasped.

"Don't deny it, Princess," Bowser sneered, bending down to the princess's level. "You're not the type of person to sacrifice yourself for others."

Standing up, the Koopa King let his words melt through his lover's skin. He knew he got to her because she had nothing to say. Folding his arms, he smirked at how devilish he can be before he was suddenly approached by the Broodals: Topper, Hariet, Spewart, and Rango.

"Hey, Boss," Topper greeted, as he brushed some dirt off his shoulder.

"Topper, Broodals," Bowser nodded. "Good to see you. Did you get the supplies I needed?"

"To an extent," Topper rubbed his ears. "We got some of those items you wanted from the Cap Kingdom and we're about to locate the Binding Band in the Sand Kingdom… howevah, there's a little problem."

"Topper got his butt whopped by that plumber and his magic hat!" Hariet cackled.

"Shut up, Hariet!"

"Wait, what!?" Bowser gasped. "Mario's still out there!?"

The Broodals nodded.

"You incompetent fools! I can't believe you let him live!"

"Gawrsh, he's pretty fast for a chubby plumber, Boss. Ya-huck!" said Rango. "But not to worry, we'll get him in no time."

"You better," Bowser snarled. "Otherwise, you're not getting your payment!"

"Keep your suit on, King Koopa," Topper grinned. "Mario and his magic hat went to the Cascade Kingdom, where our boss is just dying to see them. And trust me when I say this… you don't wanna mess with Madame Broode."

_**END OF CHAPTER 4**_

* * *

_Sounds like Mario and Luigi have their work cut out for them. There's a mysterious new foe named Madame Broode waiting to greet them and she has access to a Multi-Moon. The Mario Bros. are gonna have to work together if they want to take her down and get out of the Cascade Kingdom. Meanwhile, Princess Peach must learn to not let Bowser get to her and work alongside Tiara to save King Beret and escape from Bowser's Kingdom. How will all of this go down? Find out as Mario and Luigi go into battle with Madame Broode in..._

_"Chapter 5: Don't Mess With Madame Broode."_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_Spin Bros. is one of my favorite attacks from Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. I used to play this game with my friend on his Game Boy, but I never owned the game myself. Thankfully, there is a 3DS remake out there so I hope to buy that soon. By the way, R.I.P. AlphaDream (Company behind the Mario and Luigi RPG Series)_

_To the Guest Review that asked if I could make Bowser scary, how was that for you? I plan to make Bowser a mixture of comical and threatening like he is in the Mario and Luigi series. Thanks for the request, as I feel much better about writing for Bowser._

_As always, don't forget to R&R as it helps out a lot, but no flames! Some annoying Guest has been doing that here and with my other story, Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb. While I appreciate your time put into your review, saying mean things and calling me names make you look like the real idiot. That's all I will say for now, I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time! Peace out, web-heads!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	5. Don't Mess With Madame Broode

_**A/N:** Whoa, what's this? Two chapters of Superstar Adventure in the same week? What sorcery is this? Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter and for telling me you loved the moment with Peach and Tiara. Something I tried to add in the original version of this story was character development within Peach, but it came across as cluttered and unpolished, so I wanted to try it again. Nervous that it wouldn't work, I am glad that you guys loved it. There is going to be more Peach along the way, so stay tuned for her. I wanted to get this chapter out here now before I head off to New York City for a college project. Thankfully, I'm not going with a class group, I'm going with my best friend. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, so let's continued on, shall we?_

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Cascade Kingdom (Fossil Falls) - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(2) Madame Broode Battle - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(3) Jurassic Park Theme - Jurassic Theme OST_**

**_(4) Flying Mario Theme - Super Mario Galaxy OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**Don't Mess With Madame Broode**

As Bowser continued to torment his soon to be wife, both Mario Bros. have made their way into the heart of the Cascade Kingdom. _**(1)**_

Rounding their way to a small canyon, the brothers were encountered by three Chain Chomps, who looked at them as if they were walking pieces of steak. Luigi gasped when he saw the giant creatures, but Mario reassured by patting him on the shoulder. It was at that moment where he showed off his new abilities by throwing Cappy at the Chain Chomp; the Bonnetor landed on top of its head.

Mario was sucked inside the hat and a mustache appeared on the Chain Chomp's face.

"Whoa, what the?" Luigi smiled in astonishment. "I-a didn't know you could do that!"

"I would love to take-a credit, Luigi," Mario smirked. "But that's-a all Cappy!"

Yanking back on the chain, Mario flung himself into a Chain Chomp, which crashed into the wall behind it. It revealed a Power Moon that was stuck inside.

"Hey!" Luigi pointed, as he rushed over and grabbed the moon. "Is this the Power Moon you-a guys were talking about?"

"Yes!" Mario nodded, as he slammed himself into the other Chain Chomp. He freed the creature from its capture and approached his brother. "But that's just one Power Moon. If we wanna fire up that ship, we need that Multi Moon from above."

"Got it!" Luigi winked with a thumbs up. "Let me know how I can help anyway I can!"

"Will do!" Mario replied with the same gesture.

Mario, Luigi, Cappy, and Egon ran towards a pile of rocks that blocked the path. Of course, the Polterpup was able to phase through flawlessly, leaving the other three trapped. Mario recaptured the Chain Chomp and broke down the structure with ease, allowing the group access to the other side.

Running through the canyon, Mario and Luigi encountered tiny urchin-like creatures that sprouted from the ground like plants. They glared at the plumbers and rushed towards. Egon went through them with ease, knocking one of them off the edge of the bridge.

"Mama Mia! Not Burrbos!" Luigi moaned, as he stunned three pink urchins with his Strobulb, sucking them into his vacuum and shooting them off the platform.

"Burrbos?" Mario inquired, as he threw Cappy around his body, forming a rainbow-colored circle. They defeated Burrbos effortlessly.

"They kept bothering me and Egon while we were selling balloons. They're such annoying little pests!"

"Good thing they won't be bothering us any longer. Take-a this, you little termites!"

Mario and Luigi made their way across the bridge, but the former turned around when he saw three purple items in the distance; they were coins. He turned around and ran over to another platform, where he saw question mark blocks made up of clouds. Throwing Cappy at the clouds, they turned into platforms, which gave the plumber a chance to jump across them. He collected the coins and jumped down, showing them to his brother.

"Wonder what those are for," Luigi stroked his chin.

"Not sure," Mario replied. "But we better keep ahold of them just in case."

"There's more on that structure up there!" Cappy pointed to the top of a boulder, which had three coins. Luigi jumped up and collected the coins.

Right before he and his group avoided becoming a snack for a hungry Chain Chomp.

"Gah!" Luigi screamed.

"Hold on, I-a got this!" Mario grinned. He captured the gigantic monster and yanked back on the chain. Once he built up enough pressure, he crashed into the rocky wall. Not only did all of the cobblestone fall off, but it revealed a Warp Pipe that lead to a secret path inside the wall. From there, Goombas, question mark blocks, and brick blocks were inside; however, they were entirely pixelated.

A rough-edged pipe invited the group inside.

Being the curious Polterpup he was, Egon hopped inside.

"Egon!" Luigi shouted in concern for his pup before he was suddenly amazed by what occurred next.

Egon transformed into a picture element character.

"What the?" his owner rubbed his head.

Mario and Cappy hopped inside the pipe. The same thing happened to them.

The former looked down at his blocky body and gasped. It was difficult for him to move around because he was stuck in a two-dimensional space, but he was happy that he could walk and run.

"Wow, we've gone flat, haven't we?" Cappy chuckled. "And rather… blocky, at that."

"Why does this feel nostalgic to me?" Mario inquired, shrugging his shoulders. "Ah, well. Guess it doesn't matter. Luigi, come on in! It's not so bad."

Hesitant to join, Luigi slowly approached the pipe. He slowly lifted his foot off the ground and stuck it inside the pipe. Suddenly, he was sucked inside and shot into the 2D area, where he shared the same change as his group.

"Whoa!" Luigi jumped on his feet, looking down at his body. "This is gonna take some getting used to."

Jumping on an approaching Goomba, Mario and Luigi trotted along the path. Jumping on top of blocks and collecting more coins, both brothers were about to exit the 2D space, when Cappy sensed something in the distance.

"I feel that there's a Power Moon behind this ledge."

Mario and Luigi jumped over the ledge and walked behind the waterfall. They didn't just find a streak of gold coins; they discovered a Power Moon hiding in plain sight. Luigi pulled it towards him with his Poltergust, collecting it for his brother. Egon barked with joy, as he turned around and lead the others back to the ledge.

After jumping into brick blocks, the group returned to the third dimension, where they were greeted to a couple of Cave-Toads and two Chain Chomps. The caveman pointed at the heroes and rushed towards them with their spears in hand; two of them sat on the Chain Chomps. They threw their spears at the plumbers.

Luigi's vacuum consumed them and shot them off the waterfall, where its user stunned the Cave-Toads with his Strobulb. To which, Mario leaped forward and kicked them across their faces. He evaded another spear, grabbed it, and punched the caveman.

"Ooga, Ooga!" one of the Cave-Toads snarled.

Mario jumped up and used Cappy to knock him off the Chain Chomp, capturing the creature in the process. Luigi and Egon moved out of the way, as Mario built up the pressure by pulling on the chain.

In an instant, he was yanked into the other Chain Chomp, who shot itself against a rocky wall, making it collapse into pieces.

When the dust made from the collapse evaporated, Mario and Luigi saw a thousand Cave Toads in the distance. They were all surrounded by a chubby woman in a velvet red dress and cyan blue hair. Alongside her was a golden Chain Chomp wearing a bright pink hat.

"Is that the rabbit you were talking about?" Cappy said to the green hero.

"Y-yes, that's-a her," Luigi replied. As he and Mario walked down the bridge, he whispered in his brother's ear. "Be careful, Mario. She's pretty menacing."

"Please," Mario shrugged at his brother's warning. "What could be so scary about a fat rabbit?"

At the end of the bridge, one of the Cave-Toads turned around and pointed at the group, warning his brethren that the heroes are approaching. Soon enough, every resident of the kingdom turned over their shoulders, staring at the heroes and aiming their spears at them. They all moved to the side, allowing their leader to pass through. _**(1s)**_

A large shadow loomed over Mario and Luigi. The latter gulped and his body started trembling. Egon cuddled beside his leg. Mario and Cappy looked up and instantly dropped their jaws and widened their eyes. They couldn't believe what they were looking at. The Mushroom Kingdom's hero should have listened to his brother.

A massive fat rabbit stood over them with her dark red lipstick and her villainous blue eyeshadow. She had golden spikes around her wrists and her neck was a shiny silver necklace with the Multi-Moon attached to the center. With an evil cackle, she sneered down at the quadruples and grunted.

Luigi's body kept shaking.

Mario and Cappy were awestruck.

The only thing Mario bellowed out was. "Eh… What's up, Doc?"

The massive rabbit chuckled. "So, you're the little boy my employees told me about… Ha, you don't look so tough to me. And what are you supposed to be, Green Stache? Some kind of wannabe hero? Mwa-hahahahaha!"

Luigi showed his teeth when he heard that. How he hated being called Green Stache.

"Let's-a cut to the chase, Sir," Mario said.

"I'm a woman."

Mario gulped. "Oh… whoops… what I meant to say was… Look, Cappy and I are in a bit of a hurry. Our loved ones were rudely taken by your boss and we need a ship to get to them. So, do me a favor and give me the Multi-Moon around your neck, so we can get on with our lives, deal?"

The rabbit didn't bother to think about his offer, as she slapped her kneecaps and laughed obnoxiously. "First off, little boy… allow me to introduce myself, my name is Madame Broode. I'm the one in charge of Da Broodals. Second, did you say you need to repair your silly airship? Why I could never part with my precious Power Moons!"

Mario and Luigi shared the same glare.

"Mwa-ha ha hahaha! It sounds like the both of you want to be snacks for my adorable Chain Chompikins! How about it, girl? You hungry?"

The golden Chain Chomp barked.

"Very well, then… it's about time you have some dinner. Manga, manga!" _**(2)**_

Luigi gasped and Mario clenched his fist.

The Cave-Toads backed away from the fight, as Chain Chompikins made her first move.

Lunging herself forward, she attempted to take a bite out of the brothers, but both of them moved in the opposite direction.

Chain Chompikins turned her attention to Mario, as she charged at him again, dragging her owner across the ground. Mario jumped to the side again, rolling on his side. Placing a hand on Cappy, Mario dodged the maniacal pet twice before he started running towards his brother.

Speaking of which, the green-hatted hero did the same thing.

"Get that thing away from me!" he shouted, as he and Mario dashed down the battle arena. Madame Broode roared with laughter, as she watched the cowardly heroes flee from her pet. Both brothers turned around and moved to the right, but no matter how fast they ran, the abstract canine was always behind them.

"Split up!" Mario shouted, as he and Luigi ran in opposite directions.

But Chain Chompikins decided to go after the latter.

"W-why are you coming after me!?" Luigi shouted at the top of his lungs, moving to the right of the Chain Chomp. "Go somewhere else!"

Mario and Cappy watched as Luigi repeated the same tactics as before, wondering how they were going to defeat the rabbit.

"How do we stop her?" Mario inquired.

Cappy rubbed the bottom of his face and stared at the golden canine. It didn't take him long to come up with a solution.

"Throw me at Chain Chompikins' hat!"

"W-what!?"

"Just throw me at the hat, then capture Chain Chompikins herself! It'll work, trust me!"

Mario glanced at the chubby bunny before he nodded, agreeing to the plan. He grabbed his new companion and threw him straight at the canine's sunhat, kicking it off her head. The Bonnetor then landed straight on Chain Chompikins' head, forcing Mario to capture her.

Madame Broode snarled when she saw a mustache appear on her pet's face, as she reached over to grab it.

But with his swift abilities, Mario moved down the path and pulled pressure on the chain. Madame Broode made the mistake of pulling on the chain, hoping to bring her pet back to her. When enough pressure was applied, Mario let go and watched as Madame Broode got a face full of Chain Chomp; her dog slammed her against her face.

The Cave-Toads cringed when they saw their leader get hurt.

Madame Broode pushed her pet off and hollered. "Get down here, boys! You expect me to fight them myself!?"

A few Cave-Toads grabbed their weapons and charged at the group.

"Luigi, keep them distracted while I take care of Madame Broode!" Mario demanded, as he grabbed Cappy and rushed towards the rabbit.

"Got it, Bro!" The green-capped hero nodded. He readied his Poltergust 5000, stunning enemies with his Strobulb, sucking them into the vacuum, and shooting them into each other like a bowling ball hitting bowling pins. Luigi then jumped up and bounced on six Cave-Toads' heads.

Mario performed the same maneuver he did the first time, where he captured Chain Chompikins and avoided Madame Broode. The rabbit tried to swipe at Cappy and yank Mario out, but after a few failed attempts, she ran out of breath because of her low metabolism, and gave up.

Building up stress against the chain, Mario popped off and landed a successful strike.

"Nice one, Mario!" Cappy complimented.

"Show that brute who's boss!" Luigi cheered.

Mario landed on the grass and smirked at the rabbit before he was ambushed by a bunch of Cave-Toads. They cornered around him and forced him to the edge of the platform, where he was nearly about to fall off.

"Mario!" He heard his brother shout, as he watched as he and his dog ran straight for him. "I'm-a coming!"

Madame Broode suddenly grabbed Luigi by his Poltergust. She waved him around in a circle and chucked him over the waterfall, where he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted, as he and Cappy jumped off the waterfall and divebombed straight for the green-clad companion. Reaching his hand out, Mario grabbed his brother and was prepared to splash into the water below, when something suddenly caught him by the strap of his overalls. _**(2s)**_

It was Egon.

"Good boy!" Mario smiled, as the Polterpup carried the trio over to dry land. Dropping them on the ground, he approached his owner and dug his nose into his pocket, taking out a Gold Bone, and munching it down. Luigi got up on his feet and patted his dog's head.

"Good puppy," Luigi chuckled, as Egon barked and licked his owner's face. "Who's a good boy, Egon? Who's a good boy?"

"It cracks me up that you-a called him Egon, Luigi," Mario chuckled.

"Well, I would've named him Colombo, but that name was taken."

"What about Alfredo?"

"Same thing."

The Mario Bros. conversation was suddenly interrupted when the hubris rabbit made her dramatic return. She and Chain Chompikins landed beside them and howled like wild coyotes. Luigi screamed and landed on his rear, whereas Mario and Cappy planted their feet against the ground.

Just as they were about to finish off Madame Broode, they looked to their left and right, seeing that the Cave-Toads followed down. Each of them were hostile; they had an iron grip around their weapons. Slowly approaching the heroes, Madame Broode chuckled as her pet munched its teeth.

Mario, Luigi, Cappy, and Egon walked back.

"There's nowhere to run, you're surrounded. You might as well quit while you can," the rabbit cackled. "That little princess of yours is going to be happily married to a Koopa who's paying me and Da Broodals a huge price, and there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

Mario and Luigi stopped walking as soon as they bumped into a pile of rocks behind them, not knowing what to do next. But just when they thought they had no way of escape; they heard a deep growling coming from behind. Quaking in their boots, Mario and Luigi quietly weaved their way through the rocks and nearly jumped out of their boots at what they saw. _**(3)**_

Snoozing underneath a patch of sunlight as a dinosaur that certainly didn't look like Yoshi, but rather a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Mario eyed it and then back at the army, snapping his fingers and getting an idea.

"Any last words?" Madame Broode threatened.

Mario smirked and turned to her, grabbing Cappy in the process. The Bonnetor turned behind and figured out what his friend was about to do.

"Cappy, brace-a yourself!"

"Wait, Mario. I've never-"

But it was too late. Mario threw Cappy at the dinosaur's head and captured it.

At first, nothing much happened. Luigi and Egon took a few steps back and hid behind a few rocks, not wanting to get stepped on by a behemoth the size of a mountain. Madame Broode was silent for a few seconds before she started laughing. Did they seriously expect that to work?

Chain Chompikins was about to make a movie before Luigi used his Poltergust to suck the Multi-Moon necklace off Madame Broode's neck.

"Hey, you little runt!" the plump bunny snarled, as she reached for the plumber. "Give that ba-"

Before she could lay a finger on him, Mario's new body opened its eyes and let out a menacing growl. Madame Broode turned her attention to the T-Rex, as Mario slowly stood up on his feet. The Cave-Toads raised their eyebrows and dropped their weapons. Each of them ran away from the dinosaur and hid in the bushes. Chain Chompikins whimpered before she took off.

Which made Madame Broode upset. "Hey, you stupid mutt! Come back here, you baby!"

"Clever girl," Luigi gasped, hearing his older twin let out a roar.

Mario leaned down and grabbed the end of Madame Broode's dress with his teeth.

"Let go of me this instant! You will pay for this!"

Mario spun his massive head around in a complete circle. He continued to do this about four more times before he pulled his head to the left and hurled Madame Broode as far as he could.

She took to the skies, screaming at the top of her lungs, and disappearing in a flash of light.

"Oh-a yeah!" Mario cheered. "That was amazing! With this new body, I can-" _**(3s)**_

Just then, Mario and Cappy released the dinosaur from its capture. The former landed on his feet while the latter landed on his side.

"Cappy!" Luigi said with worry, as he ran to the floating hat, picking him up and holding him in his arms. "Are you okay?"

Mario's smile wiped off his face, as he realized he made a mistake. He rushed to Cappy and got down on his knees, noticing that the Bonnetor was unconscious.

"Mama Mia!" Mario gasped, cupping his hand over his mouth. "C-Cappy! I'm-a so sorry! Are you okay? Come on, Cappy, speak to me!"

Thankfully, the Bonnetor opened his eyes and moaned. He was all right, but he felt pain course throughout his body.

"Bark, bark!" Egon barked, as he began licking the hat's face.

"Hahahahahaha! Down, Egon! Down, boy!" Cappy laughed. "Sorry about the scare, guys. I've never been able to hold a capture on huge creatures like that one."

Mario's face dropped. "Mama Mia… I'm sorry, Cappy. I didn't know you had a limit."

"I-it's okay, Mario," Cappy nodded. "You did what you had to do, but please be mindful next time."

Mario replied with a thumbs up. "You got it, Cappy."

"Wait a minute!... when you flung Madame Broode off the cliff, did you get the Multi-Moon?"

"Why, of course, I did. It's… it's… oh, no."

Cappy gasped, as his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. "We lost the Multi-Moon!"

"Ahem!" Luigi cleared his throat, as he took the Multi-Moon out of his vacuum. "Looking for this?"

Mario and Cappy shared a breath of relief.

"Luigi, you saved the Multi-Moon. Way to go! You're-a number one!" said the red-hatted hero, as he high-fived his brother. "Now, let's get these Power Moons back to the Odyssey to see if anything works. I just-a hope it's not-a garbage."

"Trust me, Mario… it isn't," Cappy nodded.

But before they can head back to the Odyssey, the group realized that all of the Cave-Toads came back, noticing that their leader was gone. Mario and Luigi shared a glance with Cappy, they were nervous about fighting them again.

But fortunately for them, the cavemen didn't do anything harmful.

One of them approached Mario and bowed to him.

"Ooga, Booga, Chooga. Ooga, Ooga, Ooga. Chooga, Chooga, Booga, Ooga."

Mario raised an eyebrow. "Um, what did he say?"

"Hold on," Luigi said, as he reached into his pocket and whipped out his Game Boy Horror. He held it up to the Cave-Toad. "Mi dispiace, Mi Amico. But could you say that again?"

The Cave-Toad repeated what he said, and the translation loaded up on the screen.

"He said he-a thanks us for liberating him and his friends from Madame Broode's control. He says that when she-a came here, she demanded that they do what she says, otherwise, she would use Bowser's army to destroy their kingdom. Not having another choice, they decided to tag along and attack us… oh, he apologizes for his behavior and wants to know how he can-a repay us."

Mario stroked his chin before he took out one of the purple coins he found in the kingdom from his pocket. It was shaped like a prehistoric stone disk. "This is probably a stupid question, but what are-these purple coins for? They're different than the ones that come from Purple Comets."

The Cave-Toad stroked his beard and squinted at the coin. He snapped his fingers, whispered to his comrades, and gave his response.

Luigi pulled up the translation. "He says those are-a Regional Coins. They can be used in their corresponding kingdoms to buy outfits, stickers, and souvenirs in Crazy Cap Stores."

"Oh, I know that brand!" Mario nodded. "I didn't think they had those here."

"There are either fifty or one hundred coins in most kingdoms for a total of one thousand, and their shape and design can vary in each kingdom… guess now we know what those coins are for. Perhaps they can be-a useful on our journey."

"Probably," Cappy said, turning to the Cave-Toad. "Thanks for letting us go and you're welcome for the help. Let us know if that mean old rabbit comes back."

The Cave-Toads nodded before they went back to living their peaceful lives.

"So… what do we do know?" Luigi inquired.

"We have enough Power Moons to get to the next kingdom; however, I'm sensing more of them around here," Cappy replied. "Let's spend some time looking for extra Power Moons and Regional Coins. Then, we can head to the Odyssey and sail over to the next kingdom."

Mario and Luigi exchanged a nod before they went off on their quest.

* * *

Spending a few hours searching for Power Moons and Regional Coins paid off at the end of the day.

Mario and Luigi have collected a total of eighteen Power Moons. The one Mario and Cappy collected before was stuck inside the Odyssey already.

As Mario and Cappy counted the number of Moons they had, Luigi and Egon were checking out the stickers and accessories they purchased at the Crazy Cap Shop. They bought a Fossil Falls sticker with an image of a T-Rex photoshopped behind the words, a statue of a T-Rex, and a small replica of a Triceratops skull.

Egon tried to munch of the skull since it was made of bone, but Luigi stopped him.

"No, bad doggie, no eating!" Luigi waved his finger. To which, Egon barked and sat down on his rear.

Mario and Cappy approached the two ghost hunters.

"You guys ready?" Cappy inquired.

"So, let me get this-a straight," Luigi whipped his overalls. "_These_ Power Moons activate _that_ ship?"

"Apparently," Mario answered.

"Trust me, Luigi, you're gonna like what you're about to see," Cappy smiled. "Mario, if you would be so kind and throw me at the globe."

Mario replied with a single nod before he did as he was told.

As Cappy landed on the globe, Mario approached the front of the Odyssey and released all of the moons he collected into the ship's power core. The power provided by them was able to make the core glow a bright rainbow color, as the ship's sail blinded the plumbers with a flash of light.

The two brothers uncovered their eyes and noticed a huge difference. _**(4)**_

The Odyssey resembled an old hat with a red and silver paint job. Luigi approached it and applied the Fossil Falls sticker on the side, giving the ship some extra flare. Even though he kept calling it trash, Mario was happy with what he was seeing; however, he wasn't sure if it could lift off the ground.

"Wow, not bad," Mario whistled.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Cappy winked. "We have just enough Power Moons to make it to the Sand Kingdom! Let's go save Peach, Tiara, and my father! Mario, why don't you take the helm."

"Okie-Dokie," Mario smiled. He and Luigi approached the front of the ship.

With an almighty roar, the Odyssey rose from the ground, causing several portions of stone to crumble inside the gaping hole left behind. Luigi nearly tripped off the ship, but Egon grabbed his leg and pulled him back on. Cappy flew off the globe and transformed into a professional Captain's hat, landing on Mario's head in the process.

The Odyssey made a right and took to the skies.

Cappy looked down at his new friend. "Still think it's garbage?"

Mario couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay… I had that one coming."

The Super Mario Bros. set sail, unaware they were about to go on an odyssey no plumber has gone on before. _**(4s)**_

* * *

Bowser sat down at his desk with a paper and pencil. He planned to add some items to his list of supplies needed for his wedding. Taking off his hat, he placed it on the table and began tapping his left horn with the pencil, trying to figure out what he can add.

"Let's see… I feel like I need more supplies, but what should I get?" he asked himself. "Hmm… maybe something from Sarasaland? Yeah, that should be good," he wrote it down on the paper. "What else?... some of those Lumas from the Comet Observatory would make fine decorations. Let's write that down."

Bowser jotted down the note on his list.

"Would Yoshi Eggs make good decorations? Nah, they would just hatch Yoshis everywhere. Perhaps, some bananas from DK Island will do the trick. Oh, fruit! I can steal fruit from Yoshi's Island! Yes, yes, yes! That could work!"

"Ahem… excuse me, my lord."

"_GAH! _Who said that!?"

"Over here, sir."

Bowser looked down and gasped.

His hat, also known as King Beret: father of Cappy and Tiara looked straight at him. His mechanical boxing gloves were pressed together.

Placing a hand on his chest, Bowser let out a breath of relief. "Sheesh, you scared me. I thought you were one of my kids or something… wait a second… did you just call me lord?"

"Why, yes I did," King Beret nodded. "Is there anything I can do for you, Master?"

"Master?... Nah, not at the moment. Unless you know if Rose Town has any wedding supplies, wait a minute, why am I even talking to you? In fact, why are you being nice to me? You and I were fighting each other the other day, weren't we?"

"Yes, we were," the king pressed his hands behind his back. "And I must apologize for that… for I have broken the rules of my kind."

Bowser paused his writing. "Broke the rules?"

"I don't know how much research you've done on my kingdom, but many centuries ago, Bonnetors like myself were designated masters from across the world. We were obligated to do what they told us to do, even if we didn't agree with it. I may not agree with your plans and I am angry that you took me away from my family, but I can't bring myself to break my tradition."

"So, you would rather protect tradition than your kids. Wow, no wonder why you never won Father of the Year." Bowser was silent for a few seconds, as he continued writing.

"Out of curiosity, my lord. How did you find my kingdom?"

"Long story short, after Mario and his friends ruined my plans of using the Sprixies for power, I decided to take a vacation. I was having artist's block, meaning I couldn't come up with any new plans, so I went on vacation, hoping to clear my mind. I visited the Cascade, Sand, Lake, Wooded, Metro, Snow, Seaside, and Luncheon Kingdoms and I gotta say, they were nice places the relax. Especially Luncheon, the food there is delicious! Anyways, as I traveled around the world, I went into a library located in the Snow Kingdom, where I found a book titled _'The History of Bonneton." _Reading that book told me about the story of Bonnetors and where they came from. It also told me the location of the Cap Kingdom and how its king made the colony a third world civilization… So, that's when I got the idea to set up this whole wedding and use your power to get what I wanted."

"So, you used me to defeat your arch-nemesis. Is that it?"

"Well, seeing as how Mario isn't dead, I plan to use you for more than just killing him. I read in that book that Bonnetons have a Capture ability, meaning that they can take control of any person, creature, or object they see. I thought that could be quite useful for my wedding plans."

King Beret's face dropped, and he looked to the side. He was starting to regret losing to the giant turtle in his home town. But tradition says that he needed to work alongside Bowser, despite not agreeing with his plans. So, he pressed his hands together and said, "Whatever you need me to do, I will do it for you, Lord Bowser… but if I can make a small request."

Bowser turned to the king. "Yes?"

"…if you get a chance to fight Mario again… leave my son, Cappy, out of it. Just give him a warning and he'll stay out of your way… I promise."

Bowser was silent at first, raising an eyebrow at the king's request. He turned around, scratched his chin, and went back to his paper. The last thing he said to the king before he went back into planning mode was something he made sure would strike a nerve.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

While he didn't say yes or no, King Beret was slightly disappointed in his master's reply.

Letting out a breath of relief, he turned and pressed his hands together, praying that his son would do the right thing; run away.

"Please, Cappy… if you're smart enough, which I know you are… please, stay away from all of this… run away… don't look for me and your sister… Run… save yourself… I need you to promise me that."

"You know I can hear you, right?"

_**END OF CHAPTER 5**_

* * *

_And Father of the Year goes to... not King Beret, but Bowser! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! In all seriousness, King Beret was an OC of mine that didn't get a lot of attention in the original iteration of this tale. He was seen as a bland, generic king with no real personality. So, I thought I would make him more interesting by having him side with Bowser, despite not agreeing with everything that he has planned. Mario and Luigi have finally left the Cascade Kingdom and are on their way to the Sand Kingdom, the place where I got Writer's Block and gave up on the original story. Let's hope to God that doesn't happen again._

_Stay tuned for Mario and Luigi's next adventure in..._

_"Chapter 6: The Frozen Desert."_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_For anyone curious, I do plan to have Luigi stick around Mario's side during the adventure. I'm not having him stay behind in the Odyssey. Something I always thought would be interesting in Mario Odyssey is if you had the ability to switch between Mario and other characters, and they have their own abilities like in Mario 3D World. Mario has Cappy, Luigi has his Poltergust that could find hidden Moons, Wario can break large objects with his fists, Waluigi could use acrobatics to triple jump to higher places, Yoshi throws eggs at enemies, Peach and Daisy could float, Rosalina has a spin attack, and both Yellow and Blue Toads could run fast. Imagine if that happened in the game we got?_

_Don't forget to R&R as always and I want to thank you for taking the time to read this, it does show a lot of support. Again, don't leave any flames as that makes you look like a fool and I will see you all next time! Peace out, web-heads!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	6. The Frozen Desert

_**A/N:** I hate to start things off on a rude note, but I think this needs to be said. If your review says "When's the next chapter?" I'm deleting it. It means you're impatient and you don't respect the fact I have a life outside this story. So, if any reviews say that, they will be deleted. With that being said, thank you all so much for **40 reviews, 23 favorites, and 17**_** follows. **_I apologize for taking a while, but as I said, I have a life outside of here. So, without further ado, let's get this started, shall we?_

**_(1) Tostarena: Ruins - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(2) Title Theme - Wario Land Smooth Moves OST_**

**_(3) Tostarena: Jaxi - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**The Frozen Desert**

"_YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" _Bowser shouted at the top of his lungs. At his kingdom, he was scolding Madame Broode and the Broodals; the former came back from the Cascade Kingdom whereas the others returned from the Cap Kingdom. All of the rabbits shared something in common, losing to a red-hatted plumber. "You've let Mario escape!?"

"It wasn't our fault, Boss," Topper grunted. "Dat plumba had some kinda magic hat with him!"

Suddenly, Bowser's Bonneter, King Beret shot open his eyes. "Magic hat?... Cappy?"

"Quiet, you!" Bowser smacked his hat. "I paid all five of you all of my coins and _this is what I get!?_"

"Hey, relax, old man," Topper rolled his eyes.

"Old man!? I'm not that old!"

"Then tell that to the bags underneath your eyes," Hariet chuckled.

Bowser shook his fists in anger and slammed a nearby table, breaking it in half. He stormed towards the Broodals and grabbed Topper by the collar. He sneered close to his face and opened his mouth, showing the rabbit that there was a massive bowl of fire screaming his name. "Listen, you little piece of filth! I'm not in the mood for any more games! The next time you see Mario, I want you to make sure he suffers every ounce of my wrath! He needs to learn that he can't always save Princess Peach! And if he tries to retaliate against you… _kill him!_ And don't come back until you do, do you understand me!?"

At first, Topper didn't say anything.

"Perhaps, I didn't make myself clear," Bowser chuckled, as he opened his mouth and the fire was close to burning the rabbit. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Topper spoke quickly, as a bowl of sweat poured from his forehead. "You're da boss!"

Bowser dropped the rabbit down on his rear end.

Everyone else was shocked.

Spewart and Rango helped their leader on his feet, but he shooed them off. Brushing off his green uniform, Topper pulled down his hat and wiped his hands. "Anything else ya need from us, Boss?"

Bowser folded his arms. "Yes, a good wedding always needs a proper wedding ring. I need you to march down to the Sand Kingdom and fetch me a ring called the Binding Band. But I must warn you, be careful of the Sand Kingdom's guardian, Knucklotec. I don't know much about him, but I hear he's a force to be reckoned with. Watch out."

Topper chuckled, as he and the Broodals turned away from the King Koopa. "I ain't afraid to hit an old guardian. Come on, Broodals. Let's get movin'!"

Madame Broode winked at Bowser before she joined her fellow Broodals out of the door. Chain Chompikins barked at the soon to be husband and left with his owner. Once the doors closed, Bowser was finally left alone.

As the King Koopa took a seat, his own son, Junior overheard the entire conversation. He, Roy, Wendy, and Morton were setting up more decorations for the wedding.

"Stupid rabbits," Junior moaned. "Why do _they _get to fetch the supplies while we sit here and do nothing!"

"Because Dad doesn't trust us, idiot," Wendy replied. "We were supposed to get the supplies ourselves, but you wanted to sit here and make a mess!"

"What? I thought we'd have some fun before we head out."

The three Koopalings glared at Junior.

"Fine," Junior rolled his eyes. "But I have a feeling those Broodals are going to mess things up. I can handle Mario better than they can…" the Koopa Prince suddenly snapped his fingers. "Say, that's not a bad idea."

"Hmm?" Wendy raised an eyebrow.

"Let's do Dad a favor and go find Mario for him. You know, just in case those rabbits screw up again."

"Oh, yeah!" Morton clapped his fists. "I've been wanting to squash that doctor all day!"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "What? Did you just call Mario a doctor?"

"Yeah, he's a doctor."

"No, he isn't. He's a plumber."

"No, seriously. I've seen him wearing a doctor's uniform. I think he also has a doctor's certificate."

"You mean a doctorate."

"That's what it's called? I thought that was the female term for a doctor."

"Will the two of you shut up!?" Wendy snarled. "Junior, I would _love _to bash Mario's head in, but there's _no_ way I'm getting in trouble with Dad. If he finds out we're doing this, he's gonna kill us!"

"So, let's ask him," Roy suggested.

"You're kidding, right?" Junior said. "He'll obviously say no. That's why we're gonna sneak out. Here's the plan."

The four Koopas got together and whispered out a plan. Once that was done, Wendy marched away from the crowd and took a seat by her father.

"Hey, dad,"

"What is it, Wendy?"

"Have I told you that uniform looks great on you?"

"Really?" Bowser smiled. "Thanks. Y'know, I wanted to go with a black suit at first, but I thought black was too dark of a color, so I went with white. Now, I just hope this outfit makes it to the wedding day. Why? Because normally, when you wear white clothing, you have a high risk of getting stains on it. So, thankfully, I don't plan on eating anything messy anytime soon, so-"

As Bowser spoke, the three Koopa Kids walked out of the room silently before they closed the door. But at the last second, Morton motioned to Wendy.

The female Koopaling rolled her eyes and nodded to her father. "Well, that's nice, Dad. Gotta go, see ya!"

She jumped out of her chair and ran out of the door.

Bowser was left confused. "Hmph… that was weird. Oh, well."

* * *

Aboard the newly restored Odyssey, Mario and Luigi found themselves in their comfort zone; they were sitting on a set of lounge chairs in the middle of the ship. Surprisingly, the ship was packed full of supplies that made it feel like a mobile house. There was a small kitchen to their right, a coffee table by the chairs, and a few shelves that looked like it could house collectible items. But scenery didn't matter to Mario and Luigi at this time, all they wanted to do was get to the next kingdom so they can find Princess Peach.

The two brothers found themselves drinking from small cups of tea. Cappy was boiling some more tea in the kitchen. He looked at the plumbers and asked, "Do you two want some more tea?"

"No, I'm-a good," Mario replied. "How are you, Luigi?"

Luigi finished his third cup of tea. "Man, this is so good! Hit me up with another!"

"Mio Fratello, this is your _fourth _drink."

"I don't-a care, I want-a more," Luigi replied.

Mario rolled his eyes, as he watched Luigi's Polterpup, Egon walk underneath the table. He sat himself down and went to sleep. Leaning over, the mustached hero rubbed Egon's ear.

Cappy filled Luigi's cup and approached the coffee table, floating above it. "Thank goodness we got rid of that Madame Broode person. She was scary!"

"I know-a right." Luigi shivered. "She looked like mutated Boo… if that Boo was a rabbit, of course. So, where are we heading next?"

"Let's see," Cappy answered, as he reached to the side and whipped out a small brochure. "Press the jump button while in the air and hit the right bumper to do a Ground Pound-wait a minute, this isn't the right brochure. Sorry about that."

The Bonneter reached for another brochure and read it. "Here it is. We're heading down to the Sand Kingdom, a desert filled with people called Tostarenans. The kingdom's most prized artifact is called the Binding Band; a special ring that links people forever."

"Like a wedding ring?" Mario inquired.

"Precisely."

"You know what _that-a _means? Bowser's gonna come get it. Which is why I hope we get to that kingdom soon."

"Is that it down there?" Luigi pointed.

Mario and Cappy looked at where the green-hatted ghost catcher pointed. They saw a colorful city down below.

"Yep, there it is!" Cappy nodded.

The Odyssey slowed down and gently shifted to the right, finding a place to land. It didn't take long for the ship to tenderly rest in the sand. It lowered its catwalk and opened its door. Luigi was the first person to step outside. With a deep breath, he took a step forward.

"Ah, a beautiful day in the sun-"

Suddenly, Luigi was turned into a block of ice.

Mario gasped once he saw that.

His ice block of a brother gently slid down the catwalk until he hit the ground, breaking out of his icy shell. Luigi jumped up and wrapped his arms around his body. "Mama Mia! It's-a cold!"

Luigi was right. The temperature outside felt like it was below zero degrees, which was odd for a desert. Mario and Cappy stepped outside and felt a cold wind brush against them, causing them to feel the same reaction as Luigi. But that wasn't all. As if things weren't strange enough, most of the desert was covered in icebergs. Some of them had purple coins inside whereas others had people trapped inside. Mario, Luigi, and Cappy, walked out of the Odyssey, wondering what was going on.

Egon followed behind.

As the travelers explored the frozen desert, they quickly saw someone shivering in the far distance.

It was a skeletal being in a colorful dress. His face resembled a green skull and he wore a sombrero on his head. The pedestrian paced back and forth, trying to work up a sweat. The gang quickly approached him, praying they'd get some information.

"Mi scusi, sir," Mario said. "What's-a going on here?"

"Saludos, mis amigos," the Tostarenan greeted. "Something terrible is happening! One moment, it was hot, the next thing you know, ice cubes start forming. They're freezing our precious purple coins and people inside of them! Not only that, but some of the Power Moons are frozen in there too!"

Mario raised an eyebrow once he heard about Power Moons. _Wait, I thought Power Moons were only in the Cap Kingdom.  
_

"Do you know what caused this?" Cappy asked.

"I have a hunch this may be the work of our God, Knucklotec," the pedestrian replied. "He does this whenever there's danger nearby. But the thing is, I don't see any danger."

Before the two plumbers could ask another question, they noticed something in the distance.

A large, brown airship flew across the skies, heading towards a pyramid that was upside down.

"The Broodals," Mario clenched his fists.

But they weren't the only ones here. Following behind them was a set of four Koopa Cars. They were operated by Junior, Morton, Roy, and Wendy. The four of them shared a loud cackle before they raced after the Broodals.

"Of course Bowser would send four of his idiots here too," Mario rolled his eyes.

"Well, what are we waiting for," Luigi tapped his brother on the shoulder. "Let's-a go follow them!"

"Right,"

With Cappy sitting on his head, Mario ran down the village with Luigi and Egon behind him. They rushed out of the town and ran down a pathway.

But they were unaware of two shadowy figures watching them from a distance.

"Waaaaaaah!"

"Shhh, shut up!"

"I didn't know Mario and Luigi were gonna be here!"

"They must be looking for those Power Moons too. Lucky for us, they won't get in our way."

"So, what's our plan?"

"Just be ready to move when I give the word… so we can those bozos by surprise." _**(1)**_

* * *

With a new mission in hand, Mario and Luigi quickly made their way down a sandy lane. From afar, they could see a large structure in front of them, one that had a shiny, green glow on top of the largest tower. Cappy jumped off of Mario's head and moved forward, squinting his eyes at the tower.

"Guys!" he called. "I think there's a Power Moon up there!"

"Perfect!" Luigi smiled. "Let's-a grab it!"

As the Mario Bros. joined the Bonneter up the structure's stairs, they came across an army of Goombas. But they weren't average Goombas, they were smaller and had a lighter-brown color. Mario attempted to possess them with Cappy's powers, but all he did was knock the Goombas out. Obviously, they were too small to be captured, which didn't make sense to the plumber. But he shrugged it off and did his usual procedure; jump on top of the Goombas and flatten them.

Behind him, Luigi used his Poltergust to locate any gold and/or purple coins that may be lying around. Since he was told that coins have value in the Cascade Kingdom, he assumed they have value in _all _of the kingdoms. So, he figured he would collect as many coins as possible with the help of Egon.

As the Mario Bros. climbed up a platform, a Bullet Bill shot out of the wall beside them. With its eyes glowing red, the fast-moving bullet charged forward.

"Mama Mia!" Luigi screamed.

But Mario grabbed Cappy and threw him at the Bullet Bill. Like the frog and the T-Rex from earlier, Mario possessed the Bullet Bill and flew over a sandy river from below. He was worried that Luigi wouldn't find a way to get across, but he was proven wrong once he watched his brother long jump over a set of platforms. Egon followed behind, barking with joy.

Suddenly, Mario jumped out of the Bullet Bill and the missile hit the wall, destroying itself in the process. Mario and Luigi reunited with each other, as they climbed up a platform, collected a set of coins, and leaped over platforms of sand.

"So, Cappy, I have to ask," Mario said. "That skeleton guy back there said that some of the Power Moons here were-a frozen. How does he know what Power Moons are? I thought they were only exclusive to the Cap Kingdom."

"They are," Cappy nodded. "But here's something I forgot to tell you. Most of the kingdoms we'll be seeing have rulers that are friends with my father. Many years ago, he gave them Power Moons so that they can power certain machines and keep their towns safe using their magic powers."

"Wait, so that means your father knows Knucklotec?"

"Yes."

"Wow, I thought the Cap Kingdom preferred to stay isolated."

"They do. But they weren't always like that."

"What happened?"

Cappy rubbed his arm. "I think it has something to do with my mom."

The travelers landed on the other side and entered a pixelated Warp Pipe. From there, they were trapped in a two-dimensional plane, where Bullet Bills were coming up fast. Mario and Luigi jumped on top of the Bullet Bills with ease, as they collected more coins from Item Boxes.

It didn't take them long to exit the pipe, coming back to the third dimension.

"What-a happened to your mother if you don't mind me asking?" Mario inquired.

"My father doesn't tell me much," Cappy replied. "Years ago, my parents took a trip to the Metro Kingdom… my father was the only person who came back."

Mario and Luigi widened their eyes and shared a sorrowful glance.

They both climbed on top of a platform where the giant tower sat in front of them. Locating another Warp Pipe, they went back into the 2D setting, as they traveled atop the tallest tower.

"Cappy," Mario said softly. "I'm-a so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Cappy asked. "It's not your fault. I'm not sure what happened to my mother. Father never talks about her since that day. To this day, Tiara and I are still curious as to what happened to her."

Mario and Luigi shared the same glance before they jumped over a set of Bullet Bills.

"This might-a be a long shot, but what if we find your mother during our adventure?" Mario asked with a smile. "She can help us find your father and sister, perhaps?"

"Yeah," Cappy smiled. "Yeah, yeah! That would be awesome!"

The Mario Bros. exited the pipe and they found themselves on top of the tallest tower. Once Luigi looked over the horizon, he shivered. Far ahead of him were massive islands covered in sand. Some of them were connected to each other via a green bridge whereas ones required either to the biggest jump in the world or building a bridge to get across. Luigi didn't want to take a chance at either choice. He gulped before he and Mario approached the Power Moon.

They grabbed it and performed a victory pose.

This made Luigi chuckle.

"Do you have to do that every time you grab something?"

"Of course," Mario replied. "It's for dramatic effect."

Luigi chuckled again, rolling his eyes.

The two brothers stepped onto a platform the Power Moon was on and they watched as random platforms spawned out of thin air. There was no other way around these because below them was a bottomless pit, and the travelers didn't want to fall for eternity. Mario and Luigi hopped onto the platform and they slowly hovered through the air, collecting coins and avoiding laser circles that shot out of a suspicious device in front of them.

"So, Cappy," Mario jumped over the laser. "What was your mother like?"

"Oh, she was great!" Cappy smiled. "She always loved traveling. Whenever she wasn't in the kingdom, she'd always be visiting the other kingdoms checking on how they're doing. She'd help poor folks back on their feet and she would give presents to some of the natives. She was wonderful!"

"You-a said she disappeared when she went into the Metro Kingdom, right?" Luigi inquired. He and the others leaped onto another platform.

"Yeah, but that was a few years ago," Cappy nodded. "She visited that kingdom multiple times and she _always _came back. I'm not sure what happened at that time. I'm worried she got kidnapped by strangers or she got lost somewhere. Either way, my father never told me what really happened. He just told me she's not coming back."

"You don't think she's-" Mario asked.

But Cappy cut him off with a snarl, "_NO! _I refuse to believe she's gone!"

Both Mario and Luigi were shocked by the Bonneter's outburst. Egon whimpered and his behind his owner's legs. Cappy took a few deep breaths before he bowed his head in shame. "Guys, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to shout like that. When my mother left, everyone assumed she was dead, but I would tell them that she's gonna come back to the Cap Kingdom someday. I'm not sure when, but I _knew _there'd be a day she would return to me… to my family… to everyone."

Mario and Luigi exchanged yet another melancholy glance.

The former placed a hand on Cappy's head. "Hey, don't-a worry. As I said before, there might be a chance we find her during our travels."

"Right," Cappy smiled.

Soon, the heroes landed onto another island in the Sand Kingdom. This time, it was a small civilization of large stone creatures called Moe-Eyes. They were tiki like natives that had pink-colored sunglasses over their eyes. They walked around aimlessly, bumping into a set of cacti. But since they were made of stone, they weren't bothered by the sharp edges.

As Mario and Luigi explored the area, they noticed something to their left…

…it was a small crystal in the shape of a Power Moon.

"Wait, a minute," Cappy squinted his eyes. "That's a piece of a Power Moon!"

"They can break into pieces?" Luigi inquired.

"They can if you're strong enough to break them," Cappy nodded. "Some of them must've shattered when Bowser invaded the Cap Kingdom. Most Power Moons come from our kingdom and they scattered around the world when he raided the place and… took my family."

"And we'll get them back," Mario nudged his new friend. "Both the moons and your family, I mean."

"Likewise with your special one, Mario."

"Hey, guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but some of these fragments might be hard to reach," Luigi pointed around his environment. "There's one on that pillar and there's another magically floating over a pile of poisonous goo. How are we going to get those?"

Mario stroked his chin, as he and Cappy turned to a Moe-Eye that was behind them. Both of them exchanged a nod before they approached him.

"Mi scusi, sir," Mario kindly waved. "Would you mind if I-"

Suddenly, the Moe-Eye panicked and ran away from the plumber.

"Whoa, hey!" Mario called. "Come-a back! I just wanted to know if I can possess you!"

Luigi facepalmed once he heard that.

Mario continued to chase the Moe-Eye around the area.

"Hey! Come-a back here!"

The Moe-Eye kept running.

"I'll give you some-a spaghetti!"

The Moe-Eye kept running.

"How can you run faster than me! You don't-a look like you-a exercise!"

The Moe-Eye kept running.

"I'm-a gonna get you!"

The Moe-Eye took off at the speed of light, forcing Mario to stop by Luigi.

"What's his problem!?" the red-hatted hero shouted in anger.

Cappy bounced off Mario's head. "Sorry, I forgot to mention. Those creatures are called Moe-Eyes. They're shy around people."

"Gee, Cappy, you think you could've told me that before?" Mario asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, I forgot," Cappy chuckled.

Mario sighed. "You know what? Forget asking permission!"

With that, the plumber grabbed his new ally and threw him on top of the Moe-Eye's head. Mario suddenly took control of the stone creature. Luigi and Egon, even though they've seen Mario transform before, were still amazed by Cappy's powers.

Mario suddenly flicked down his sunglasses and when he did, he could see hidden bridges and platforms that bypassed through the poisonous river. He smiled and flicked off his sunglasses. "Hey-a, Luigi. These shades can help me see hidden pathways. You go look for the fragments on the desert, I'll get the trickier ones."

"Got it, Bro!" Luigi nodded, as he and Egon searched for more fragments.

As Mario pulled down his shades and walked across a platform, he grabbed another piece of the Power Moon and walked back. He marched towards a floating ledge that would take him on top of the pillars. He looked up at Cappy, wanting to know more about his family.

"So, Cappy," he began. "I know I asked a lot about your mother, but I don't think you've told me about your sister. What's her name, Tiara?"

"Oh, yeah!" Cappy sniggered. "She's a handful, but she's fun. Like my mother, she's a big fan of traveling. But because she's young, we don't take her to the bigger kingdoms like the Wooded Kingdom, Lake Kingdom, or even Luncheon Kingdom. We stick to smaller places like this town, the Cascade Kingdom, and other places that don't have anything dangerous."

"A kingdom without something dangerous? As someone who normally travels to eight worlds to find Princess Peach, I-a find that hard to believe."

Thanks to his sunglasses, Mario reached the top of the pillar, walked across a bridge, and found the Power Moon piece. He walked back and took the escalator down.

"Yeah, the world's a dangerous place," Cappy smiled before he released a low sigh. "That's why I'm worried about Tiara. I don't know where Bowser has taken her, but I can only hope she's safe."

"Knowing my girlfriend, Peach, Tiara's gonna be a-okay!" Mario winked. But in his thoughts, he was thinking, _Peach has combat experience since I've been training her, but I'm hoping she can face Bowser and his army by herself._

Mario unpossessed the Moe-Eye and approached Luigi, who collected the other two pieces.

"I got them!" Luigi called.

"Awesome!" Mario replied.

The two brothers combined the pieces together and a green light blinded both of their eyes. In a split second, another Power Moon was in their grasp. Mario and Luigi shared a high-five and reached for the moon. But suddenly, they heard the sound of a car running towards them. They also heard a loud, familiar cry.

"_**WAHH!**_" _**(1s) (2)**_

A large purple vehicle known as the Wario Car came out of the blue and snagged the Power Moon from Mario and Luigi's grasp. Both brothers gasped and looked at the two drivers. Once the vehicle stopped, both drivers shared an evil laugh before holding the Power Moon into the air…

…their names were Wario and Waluigi.

"Mwa-ha ha hahaha! Talk about a fantastic catch!" Wario laughed, stroking the Power Moon. "You're going to make me a lot of money on the open market!"

"Yeah, nice catch, Wario!" Waluigi clapped.

"Thank you, thank you," Wario bowed. "You're too kind."

Mario and Luigi facepalmed.

"Oh, no," the former mumbled in annoyance. "It's Wario and Waluigi."

"Who?" Cappy inquired.

"They're the biggest idiots in the Mushroom Kingdom," Luigi replied with the same tone as his brother's. "Two jokers who try to one-up everybody."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our competition: Mario and Luigi," Wario grinned. "Still searching for Princess Peach, I see?"

"When's that girl gonna give you a break?" Waluigi asked.

"Y'know, I like to think she _enjoys _getting captured by Bowser. Maybe she sees something in him that she doesn't see in you, Mario."

Both Wario Bros. laughed and high-fived.

Mario rolled up his sleeves. "Hey, Cappy. Let's see if you can possess these two idiots!"

Luigi grabbed Mario's arm. "Whoa, hold up there, Bro! Let's see if we can work this out. Look, Wario and Waluigi, we're not looking to tussle with you. You see, we need those Power Moons for our ship back there. We're going to save Princess Peach and our new friend, Cappy's family from Bowser. So, please, let's not rush to violence. Just hand over the Power Moon and we can pretend this never happened."

Waluigi hopped off the kart and landed in front of Luigi, thumping him in the nose. "Listen to you, Green Mario! Trying to peace talk to me and my bro! _Ha! _You're even funnier than I remember."

"Hey!" Mario growled. "No one touches my brother like that!"

Wario socked Mario across the jaw, knocking him onto the ground. "Sorry, Mario, but I can't have you ruining _my _plans today. Once we're done here, we'll snag those Power Moons that are on your ship. But for now, there are _plenty _of these things lying around here! I guess Waluigi and I have our work cut out for us!"

The two hopped back on their kart.

"So long, chumps!" Waluigi waved. "Thanks for the free Power Moon!"

Activating the Wario Car, the two partners took off in the blink of an eye. _**(2s) (3)**_

Mario and Luigi, with faces full of dirt, snarled and gave chase to their enemies.

"Come on!" Cappy shouted. "We can't let them get away!"

Leaping off a set of platforms, Mario and Luigi approached another island and ran down a road that was nothing but sand. The Wario Car traversed through the desert without a problem, but once it went up a small hill, it began to slow down. Noticing that the Mario Bros. were catching up, Waluigi took out a bag of Bob-ombs and started throwing them at the heroes. Cappy screeched like a banshee while Luigi sucked them up with his Poltergust. He shot them forward and managed to hit both the back of the car.

"_Gah!_" Wario bellowed. "Come on, come on, come on!"

The vehicle finally dashed up the mountain and smoothly drove across the sand.

Mario and Luigi kept running, but they saw that the car was getting farther away.

The green-hatted ghost hunter panted. "Gee, if only Yoshi was here! He could catch up with these guys! Mario, we're not going to get anywhere in this state. We need something that can catch up to them!"

"I know, I know!" Mario yelled back. "But what!?"

Suddenly, the travelers were met by another creature. A feline character that resembled a lion. On his sides were ancient markings and his Maine was made of gold. Beside him was a sign that read, _"Jaxi: Fastest Creature In The Sand Kingdom. Only Fifty Coins"_.

The heroes approached the lion.

"Hey, excuse me!" Luigi said, panting. "Mind if we hitch a ride?"

"Sure," Jaxi nodded. "You got fifty coins?"

Mario quickly handed over the coins.

Jaxi turned around. "Hop on, boys! And hold on tight!"

As soon as the brothers and Egon hopped on top of the lion, Jaxi took off at the speed of light. He was running as fast as a prey running from a predator, a hedgehog running around a zone collecting gold rings, and a race car driver speeding down the track. Following Jaxi's instructions, Mario and Luigi held on tight. The former had one hand on his hat, hoping that Cappy didn't go flying off. Luigi screamed at the top of his lungs while Egon barked with joy.

Jaxi and the heroes eventually caught up to the Wario Bros.

Through his mirror, Wario could see his enemies approaching.

"Won't these fools ever quit!" the yellow-hatted man snarled. "Waluigi, blow them to smithereens!"

"Aye-eye, Captain!" Waluigi saluted, as he whipped out more Bob-ombs and chucked them forward. But thanks to Jaxi's expert agility, he dodged every attack. To help him out, Luigi captured a few bombs with his vacuum and shot them back.

Luigi missed a few shots, but when he landed some, they impacted the back of the car.

Wario lost control at first before he gripped the steering wheel. "Hey, Waluigi! Maybe you should _stop _throwing those bombs!"

"Why?"

"_BECAUSE LUIGI'S SHOOTING THEM BACK AT US!_"

"Oh, I thought they were coming back through magic!"

Mario hopped onto Jaxi's back with his feet and gripped Cappy. "Hey-a, Cappy. Can you control vehicles at all?"

"I can," Cappy nervously replied. "But it's been a while so-"

"Great!"

Without a second thought, Mario chucked the Bonneter forward and he captured the front of Wario's car. Mario flew inside the vehicle and was in full control. He switched the car to full throttle, as he shifted to the right and boosted forward. Wario and Waluigi nearly tripped out of the vehicle. The former grabbed onto the steering wheel, attempting to take back control.

"What the heck is going on!?" he yelled. "How are you doing this!?"

Mario drove the vehicle to the right once again and the Wario Bros. were about to get a face full of a pyramid.

Both went pale.

"Uh, oh," Wario and Waluigi gasped.

Mario and Cappy released the car just in time because Wario and Waluigi crashed the vehicle into the side of the Inverted Pyramid. Both heroes performed a backflip and landed on the ground, watching the Power Moon fly out of Wario's hands.

Catching the Power Moon, Mario huffed at his rivals. _**(3s)**_

But Cappy had something to say to the plumber. "You _jerk!_"

"Hey, what did I do?"

"I was about to tell you it's been a while since I've captured vehicles! But you just had to throw me at them like it was nothing!"

"At least we got the Power Moon."

"But still, you cared nothing about my safety back there! What were you thinking!?"

Mario felt bad for what he did. He lowered his head in shame. First, he carelessly took control of a T-Rex, now he carelessly took control of the Wario Car. That's twice he's showed no remorse for Cappy's safety. "I'm-a sorry, Cappy. I didn't mean to-."

Luigi hopped off of Jaxi and ran towards his friends. "Hey, are you guys okay?"

Mario and Cappy shared a glance.

"We're fine," Cappy huffed, looking at the top of the pyramid. "I'm sensing a Multi-Moon nearby. It's on the top of the pyramid. Come on, let's get moving."

Mario felt even more sorry once he watched Cappy enter the pyramid.

Luigi nudged his brother. "Not to make you feel bad, Bro, but that was-a reckless. You could've gotten-a Cappy killed."

"I know that," Mario grunted. Once he realized that he startled his brother, he let out a deep sigh and spoke softly. "Sorry… come on, let's get inside."

Mario and Luigi entered the Inverted Pyramid, leaving Wario and Waluigi to sleep.

_**END OF CHAPTER 6**_

* * *

_Poor Wario and Waluigi. Looks like these two aren't getting a Power Moon anytime soon. But more importantly, Cappy is angry with Mario for pulling a reckless move. Can Cappy forgive Mario for his mistake or will the Bonneter stay mad at him forever? Who knows what will happen between the two? I guess we'll find out next time, as Mario and Luigi face off against more enemies in..._

_"Chapter 7: The Fists of Knucklotec"._

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_Instead of leaving the Koopalings for a single cameo, I decided to have Bowser Jr. Roy, Morton, and Wendy "join" the Broodals on their journey. They'll be giving the Mario Bros. a hard time in the next chapter. _

_Wario and Waluigi won't be staying for this chapter only. Nope, expect them to show up more in the story along with other Mario characters from Mario's past. :)_

_That's all I have to say for now. Thanks for tuning into this story once again. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	7. The Fists of Knucklotec

_**A/N:** Don't worry, everyone. This isn't a belated April Fool's Joke. This is a real chapter. I haven't done an April Fool's Chapter since this one chapter of Awakened. I would have done another, but I wasn't in the mood. With that being said, thank you all for reviewing the last chapter of this Mario story. I was going to have this one out by the end of March, but I wanted to focus on my health and keeping my family safe. I'm sure you all understand. A Response to the Guest who left that "When's the next chapter" note: I accept your apology. Just don't do it again. A response to the other Guest who thinks Pauline's hat is Cappy's mother: I cannot confirm nor deny that you're on the right track._

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Broodals Battle - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(2) Tostarena: Night - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(3) Ice - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

**_(4) Knucklotec Battle - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**The Fists of Knucklotec**

"_Grrrrr! _Where is this stupid thing!?"

Topper searched on top of the Inverted Pyramid with a map in his hands. He and the Broodals spent a majority of their time searching for the Binding Band: a magic ring that Bowser needs for his wedding with Princess Peach. However, they were experiencing a problem. One that may or may not cost them dearly.

They can't find the Binding Band.

The green-hatted rabbit snarled and checked the kingdom's map one last time.

The Binding Band's location was revealed at the center of the pyramid, but given the frustration expressed by the bounty hunter, he didn't see any magic ring in sight.

"Where is it?" Topper grunted again. "It says it's on the top of this pyramid! Well, I don't see no stinkin' ring! Do _you _guys see a stinkin' ring!?"

Hariet rolled her eyes and yanked the map from her leader's hands. "You're probably reading it wrong. Which would make sense considering how stupid you can be."

"Shut up, Hariet! I _know _I'm not reading that map wrong! It clearly states that the Binding Band is hidden on the top of this Inverted Pyramid, but I can't see squat! Unless you have some magic X-Ray vision that can find the stupid ring, then go ahead, Hariet-"

"Uh, guys?" Rango pointed upward. "It looks like we got some company."

The Broodals looked to their right and watched a Clown Car land on top of the pyramid. There, Bowser Jr, Wendy, Morton, and Roy hopped out and approached the rabbits. Chain Chompikins snarled at the four Koopas, but Madame Broode kept her pet calm.

Topper, Hariet, Spewart, and Rango were confused.

Junior approached the rabbits and yanked the map out of the girl's hands. "I should've known you'd screw this up! Good thing my dad sent us here to help you!"

"There's no way your father sent you guys!" Spewart chuckled. "He sent us! Da Broodals!"

"The Broodals?" Wendy raised an eyebrow."

"No, no, not _the _Broodals. _DA _Broodals."

"Whatever."

"I don't have time for this!" Topper snarled at the Koopa prince, taking the map back. "Scram, kid! Go find someone else to bother!"

"No way, Fur-Ball!" Junior retorted. "I'm here to show my dad I'm not just some idiot who plays video games and slacks off all day! I'm gonna get that ring for him whether you like it or not!"

"Not a slacker, huh?" Hariet smiled evilly. "Didn't he yell at you for making a mess in the kingdom instead of helping get the supplies? Hence the reason why he hired us in the first place. From the way I see it, you're _still _a slacker."

All five rabbits shared an evil laugh.

Junior's face turned his red and steam poured from his ears.

"It's true," Roy whispered to his brother. "We _did _make a mess of the lair."

"_Quiet!_" Junior snarled, whipping out his magic paint brush. He held it up to Topper's neck. "Listen… Topper, was it? My father doesn't know I'm here and I want it kept that way. Why? I want to make amends for my actions and make sure he and Mama Peach have a good wedding. So, you can either let me take over this whole operation, or… we can settle this like gentlemen if you know what I mean by… _gentlemen_."

* * *

Inside of the pyramid itself, Mario and Luigi were inside of a two-dimensional realm. The pixelated brothers were riding on a platform, avoiding Bullet Bills as they came. Luigi captured a few missiles with his Poltergust 5000 and fired them back. The Bullet Bills were moving so slow, the brothers would watch a marathon of movies by the time the missiles hit the walls.

Mario looked up at Cappy, who sat on top of his head.

The Bonneter was angry for what happened earlier. Mario carelessly used his powers to captured Wario and Waluigi's vehicle and crashed it into a wall. If the plumber wasn't careful, he and Cappy could've been severely maimed.

Cappy had his eyes turned away from Mario, hoping this interminable platform ride would end.

But the plumber's mind was focused on apologizing.

"Cappy," he spoke softly. "Listen, I know what I-a did was wrong and I'm truly sorry."

"That's twice you did that now," Cappy replied with a snarl. "First, you captured the T-Rex without my consent. And now, you do the same thing with that fat guy's car."

"I'll admit, my mind was more focused on getting that Power Moon. I want to collect all of the moons so we can save Peach."

"I hate to sound selfish, but she's not the only one that's in danger, you know? My family is captured with her. You have to be more considerate and acknowledge that this whole adventure isn't about you. It's about us working together getting what _we _want… I thought you would've understood that."

Mario lowered his head in shame.

Soon, the travelers exited through a Warp Pipe and came across a set of stairs. Stairs that lead to a massive light at the top. Just as Mario and Luigi walked upward, the latter turned around, scanning his environment. He whispered to Egon and the Polterpup walked forward, sniffing the air.

"What's the matter, Luigi?" Mario inquired.

"Egon's checking to see if Wario and Waluigi are following us."

"Hopefully, not. I knocked them out real good."

"Don't get cocky, Bro. Knowing the Wario Bros, we'll probably see them again… and call me pessimistic, but we'll probably see other _'friends' _of ours as well."

"What do you mean?"

"King Boo, King Bob-Omb, Tatanga, Petey Piranha, Popple, other villains we've fought against are probably after Power Moons. We have to make sure we're ready for anyone who stands in our way."

"Right you are, Luigi. But let's-a worry about getting those Broodals first. I know they're close by."

"I'm also sensing a Multi-Moon up here," Cappy said. "Watch out, guys."

Mario and Luigi exchanged a nod before they went up the stairs.

* * *

When the travelers arrived on top of the pyramid, they were met with a gorgeous view of the entire Sand Kingdom. To their left, they could see the village they ventured through as well as the other buildings they just passed. If they weren't running out of time, they'd sit back and soak in the summer sun. But of course, the temperature was freezing cold and there was a Multi-Moon to be found. So, the heroes saved their sight-seeing for later.

Once they walked up a set of steps, they heard voices in the distance.

"Settle this like gentlemen?" Topper chuckled. "Come on, kid. Tell me you're not serious."

Mario and Luigi ducked below the platform and gently peeked upward. From there, they saw the Broodals having a dispute with four Koopalings.

"Great," Mario whispered. "I should've known Bowser sent four of his idiot kids here with the Broodals."

"I don't know if they're working together, Bro," Luigi replied. "Listen."

"I'm warning you, rabbits! Back off!" Junior spat.

"Oh, yeah! I'm gonna squash some rabbits!" Morton clapped his fists.

"Hold on a second, Junior," Wendy interrupted the possible quarrel. "Look, I just tagged along just to get out of the house for a bit. But this is ridiculous. Junior, there's no need for a fight against these guys."

"Listen to your sister, kid," Spewart nodded. "Even _she_ knows she's too chicken to beat us."

Wendy's eyes widened when she heard that last remark. "What… did you say?"

"I said even you know you're too chicken to beat us," the blue-suited rabbit repeated.

The female Koopaling tightened her head-bow and flicked her earrings. She suddenly took out her magic wand and snarled at all five rabbits. Her brothers smiled in a sinister fashion, as they jumped down into battle positions.

"Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong!" Junior cheered happily. "Get em'!"

The four Koopalings jumped on top of the four Broodals. Madame Broode and Chain Chompikins jumped back, not wanting to be part of the fight that was happening. Topper punched Junior in the nose, Hariet flicked Wendy with her hair, Rango slapped Morton across the face, and Roy body-slammed on top of Spewart's chest.

Mario and Luigi watched the donnybrook in amazement.

"Wow, if I had some popcorn, I'd say we could have dinner and a show," the ghost catcher joked, nudging his brother.

"Cappy, where's the Multi-Moon?" Mario inquired, ignoring Luigi's joke.

"Not sure," Cappy replied. "Usually it appears whenever we defeat a Boss Battle."

"Huh, the same thing happens with-a Power Stars."

"I guess we're going to have to take these guys out if we want to find the Multi-Moon, but we gotta be smart about this. I don't know if the three of us… sorry, four counting Egon, can fight all of these guys at once."

Junior slashed against Topper with his paintbrush.

Spewart smacked Roy across the face.

Morton fired a magic spell at Rango.

And Wendy tussled with Hariet.

Mario and Luigi exchanged a nod before they leaped onto the battlefield.

"Hold it right there!" Mario snarled.

The donnybrook between the supervillains stopped.

"Mario!" the four Koopalings gasped.

"You again!?" Topper grunted. "I don't have time for you today! You've already beat me once; I won't be beaten again! Hariet, show these plumbers who's boss! And while you're at it, put these brats into a time out!"

With Spewart, Rango, and Topper retreating back to their ship with Madame Broode, Hariet released a soft giggle before something spawned on the end of her ponytail: a massive ball of spikes. She tipped her metallic hat before she snapped her fingers. The entire arena was suddenly surrounded by fire. The four Koopalings gasped and leaped out of the way, burning a singe of their skin in the process.

Luigi startled and gripped his vacuum.

Mario and Cappy exchanged a glance before they got into a battle position.

Hariet was ready to fight. _**(1)**_

"Cappy, may I?" Mario inquired.

Even thought he was slightly angry at the plumber, Cappy nodded. Mario grabbed his new companion and threw him forward, but to his surprise, Hariet shielded herself from Cappy's attack. It was all thanks to her metallic hat. Cappy came back to Mario and both he and Luigi were stunned. Hariet cackled before she whipped her ponytail around, swinging her massive spike ball at the brothers.

Like a pair of acrobats, Mario and Luigi performed multiple backflips and side flips, making sure they're not penetrated by the golden spikes.

Suddenly, Hariet chucked the spike ball forward and it exploded, knocking Luigi back a few feet.

"Luigi!" Mario exclaimed.

When the green-hatted hero woke up, he saw that a large puddle of lava sat in front of him.

"Mama Mia!" he gasped. "Be careful, the girl's hair makes lava!... Wow, that can come out in so many different ways!"

Mario evaded another attack from Hariet and rolled to the side.

He attempted to hit her again, but she shielded herself once again.

Suddenly, the purple-dressed rabbit twirled her ponytail around and around at a rapid pace. She suddenly raised another spike ball in the air and slammed it towards Mario. Luigi tackled his brother, pushing him out of the way, as the spike ball landed on the ground. Both brothers tumbled across the ground and Mario quickly fired Cappy forward. The Bonneter smacked the ball of spikes, which caused the rabbit's ponytail to spin around until it hit her in the chest, knocking her metal hat off her head.

"Now's our chance, Mario!" Cappy shouted.

Mario and Luigi nodded, as the latter raced forward and cupped his hands together.

Pushing his brother into the air, Mario jumped on top of Hariet's head. Then, Luigi did the same thing. Suddenly, both brothers jumped up, grabbed each other's hands, and performed a double ground pound on Hariet's head.

"Come on, Hariet!" Topper exclaimed.

"Do not disappoint me!" Madame Broode scoffed.

"Show them who's boss!" Spewart snarled.

"Gawrsh, we _could _go down there and help her, you know?" Rango rubbed his head.

"Nah, the plot doesn't require all of us to attack at once," Topper replied.

Mario and Luigi landed on the ground, exchanging a fist-bump.

Hariet screamed at the top of her lungs. "You're gonna pay for that, runts!"

"Bring it on!" Mario grinned.

As the Mario Brothers continued their battle, the four Koopalings sat and watched. Junior helped Wendy and Roy on their feet, as Morton struggled to figure out how he can attack the heroes. He stroked his chin, patted his head, and tapped his toe.

"What should we do, Junior?" Morton asked.

"Morton, you and Roy take care of the plumbers," Junior ordered. "Wendy and I will find the Binding Band."

"Don't gotta tell me twice," Roy smirked.

The two powerhouses of the Koopalings rushed into battle, but all they did was get tackled by Egon. The Polterpup growled at the Koopalings before he turned his attention to Junior and Wendy. Both of them gasped, as they retreated to their Clown Car. Egon growled again and chased after them, barking loudly.

Mario and Luigi dodged more of the Hariet's attacks before the rabbit did the same procedure as before, twirling her spike balled ponytail into the air before slamming it on the ground. Mario whacked it back at her and knocked off her hat once again. With more ground pounds from both brothers, Hariet was close to being defeated. But she had one trick up her sleeve. Rolling up her sleeves, she suddenly went inside of her hat, which levitated in the air like a flying saucer. She maneuvered around the environment, spitting chunks of spike balls that exploded into puddles of lava. Mario and Luigi gasped, as they ran around the area, not wanting to be burned to a crisp.

"Mama Mia, what's-a wrong with this person!?" Mario exclaimed.

"Just keep running!" Cappy warned.

"What are we going to do about the Koopalings!?" Mario added.

"Don't worry, Egon's got them!" Luigi motioned to his Polterpup, who was throwing Junior around like a chew toy. "Mario, can't you throw Cappy at the hat? See if that will knock her down!"

"Give it a shot, Mario!" Cappy nodded.

"Are you sure?" Mario inquired. "I don't want to make the same mistake I made twice."

"Just do it!"

"Okie-Dokie!"

And just like that, Mario threw Cappy into the air and he knocked Hariet out of the sky. Once she landed on the floor, she shot more spike balls from her hat. Suddenly, she twirled her ponytail around and smacked both brothers in their chests. Both of them fell against each other.

"Now I got you right where I want you!" Hariet cackled. "Say goodnight, heroes!"

With her ponytail shooting into the air, Mario and Luigi evaded to opposite sides, letting her ponytail slam onto the ground. Gripping Cappy, the Mushroom Kingdom's hero smacked the lava bomb back at her, which knocked her hat off again.

Mario ground pounded on top of her head.

Luigi did the same thing.

And then…

…both brothers landed one final blow. _**(1s)**_

With her head ringing like crazy, Hariet became dizzy and she tipped over the side. She quickly fell unconscious and a green-colored Multi-Moon came out of the ground. Egon slammed Junior and the others into the Clown Car before he ran back to his owner. Mario and Cappy nodded before they grabbed the Multi-Moon, performing a victory pose.

Topper shook his fists, jumped down, and grabbed Hariet. "You numbskull! I knew you couldn't do it! This ain't over, plumbas! Da Broodals will be ba-"

_**RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!**_

The Inverted Pyramid started shaking as if an earthquake was happening. But what was weird was that the rest of the desert wasn't shaking as well. Both heroes and villains toppled over their feet, feeling the ground shake below them. Mario and Luigi grabbed onto a ledge, feeling the ground push against their stomachs.

"Is it just me or does the ground feel like it's moving up!?" Luigi shouted.

"I don't know!" Mario replied.

Suddenly, a dark voice spoke to everyone on the pyramid.

"_**Stay… away."**_

"What was that?" Topper asked.

"_**Stay… away… Get… away…"**_

"What's going on!? Who is that voice!?" Luigi gasped.

"_**Get… away… from… RING!**_"

The last thing everyone on top of the Inverted Pyramid saw was a flash of white light. _**(2)**_

* * *

Mario and Luigi were found unconscious on the sand near Tostarena.

It didn't take long for the red-hatted plumber to open his eyes and find Cappy laying down on the side. Luigi's face was buried in the dirt and Egon was struggling to pull him out. Mario rubbed his head and shot sand out of his nostrils. Rolling his eyes, he looked up at the sky and noticed something different.

It was nighttime and stars illuminated the night sky.

Egon finally pulled Luigi out of the dirt and the ghost catcher screamed, shooting awake in an instant. Shaking his head, Luigi wondered what was going on until he felt a cold chill run down his whole body. He felt like he was just sprayed by liquid nitrogen, so he shivered heavily and felt two icicles grow out of his nostrils. Wrapping his arms around his body, he shivered heavily and so did his brother and the Bonneter. Both of them approached Luigi.

"Mama Mia!" Luigi said. His teeth jittered as he spoke. "Now it's _really _cold!"

Mario nodded in agreement and looked around his environment. There were icebergs earlier, but now, there were _more _of them. More pedestrians were frozen and so were Purple Coins and other Power Moons. Mario didn't know what to do until he looked to his right; a strange, purple gas was forming beneath the surface. Suddenly, a supernatural creature popped out of the ground, scaring both brothers.

The creatures resembled animated skeletons and they creeped upon the heroes.

But as if things weren't weird enough, Cappy pointed to the horizon…

…the Inverted Pyramid was floating in the air.

"Odd, the pyramid is floating," he said.

"That's your focus right now?" Mario asked confusingly. "Not the skeleton ghosts or the freezing cold temperature!?"

"I got them!" Luigi smiled, as he aimed his Poltergust 5000 at the ghosts. He thought he could suck them up, but when he did, he realized they remained in their exact positions. He gasped and tried it again, but nothing worked. Thinking third time's the charm, he did this one more time, but was met with the same result.

Then, he screamed and jumped into Mario's arms.

As the heroes found themselves surrounded by ghosts, they heard a voice calling for them.

"Mis amigos!"

Everyone looked and saw a Tostarenan waving towards them. "This way! Come towards the light!"

"I thought the expression was don't go into the light!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Let's make an exception!" Mario huffed.

Carrying his brother, the plumber stormed through the army of ghosts before he made his way towards a small shop in the hub of the town.

He leaped forward, opened the door, and was helped inside by the civilian. As soon as the pedestrian closed the door, Mario placed Luigi down and the two brothers looked around their shelter. It was a white walled environment with the cash register being split into two sides. One was yellow and the other one was purple. Then, there was a sign on the top that read, _Crazy Cap_. Mario and Luigi saw two cashiers behind the register and shared a glance. Cappy leaped off the former's head and approached the register, analyzing the signs.

"These places are still open?" he inquired.

"What places?" Mario asked.

"When my mother was around, she opened up a series of establishments called Crazy Cap. They're little shops that sell collectibles from different kingdoms. I didn't think these were still open."

"Welcome to the Crazy Cap, my friends!" A pink-skulled Tostarenan smiled. "What can I get for you?"

"Could you tell us what's going on here?" Luigi asked.

"Our guardian, Knucklotec has initiated some kind of defense on our kingdom. He did something like this earlier, but it wasn't _this _bad. Something must've angered him, and he won't stop until whatever's causing this is abolished!"

"He probably did this because the Broodals and those turtles are here to steal the Binding Band," Cappy said to the plumbers. "We have to protect that ring before the villains get to it!"

"Be careful around Knucklotec," the pink-skulled cashier warned. "He doesn't like it when strangers visit the kingdom. But he'll relax if you're dressed like us. I'm not sure why that works, but it does. Here, take these costumes free of charge. Trust me, they'll work."

The cashier took out a pair of green, blue, and pink ponchos. He handed them to the brothers, and they nodded. Suddenly, Cappy transformed into a sombrero and landed on top of Mario's head. Both plumbers exchanged a fist bump before they marched on their way.

"Let's-a go!" both of them shouted. _**(2s) (3)**_

* * *

Moments later…

Both Mario Brothers were deep underground. With the help of Jaxi, they discovered a secret passageway inside the hidden base of Knucklotec. The place was no colder than it was up above, and the environment has completely changed. The base was split into multiple platforms that were covered in ice and snow. Surprisingly, Goombas trailed across the ice with ease thanks to their feet. Mario and Luigi approached the stone pathway before they gently stepped onto the ice.

Since they needed a way to appease the guardian, they were dressed in different attires.

The two of them wore sombreros and they had green, blue, and pink colored ponchos. Part of them regretted putting them one because their arms were exposed, which made them exposed to the cold wind. Mario and Luigi exchanged shivers before they ice skated across the ice.

Thanks to his newfound power, Mario captured a Goomba and took control of it.

"Show off," Luigi rolled his eyes. "Lucky for me, I always keep some of these wherever I-a go."

Taking out his penguin suit, the plumber placed it on and got down on his chest. With Egon jumping on his back, the hero rode down the ice and made it onto the next platform. Mario walked after him as a Goomba. To his surprise, he made it across without slipping.

"Hey, the feet of these creatures don't seem to be affected by ice," Cappy acknowledged. "This could be useful."

"I just-a hope we don't-a visit more cold kingdoms like this," Mario gulped.

Cappy nervously chuckled. "Um… funny you should say that."

"What!?"

Mario and Luigi made their way through the platforms.

"Hey, Bro," Luigi looked over his shoulder, seeing that Mario was jumping on top of other Goombas, forming a Goomba Tower. They approached a female Goomba and flirted with it to a point where it gave them a Power Moon. "Are you sure this is going to work? I don't know if dressing up like the common folk is going to make this Knucklotec like us."

"We have to hope for the best, Luigi," Mario replied. He and his brother hopped across several rotating platforms before they made their way to a higher ledge. Luigi removed his penguin suit and Mario released the Goomba. "As much as I want to get a move on and rescue Peach, something tells me getting pass Knucklotec isn't going to be that easy."

"When is getting past a guardian ever easy?"

Mario and Luigi came across a vast bottomless pit and saw multiple pillars with Bullet Bills shooting out of the top. The former simply captured a Bullet Bill and allowed Luigi and Egon to jump on his back. He drove himself across the pit before he landed on the other side.

There, the heroes were greeted to a large door that lead to darkness.

"I'm-a little scared, Bro," Luigi gulped.

"Not gonna lie, Luigi," Mario mirrored his motion. "So am I." _**(3s)**_

* * *

Entering through the other side, Mario and Luigi discovered the four Koopalings sitting by a shrine in the middle of the room. On top of the shrine sat a giant ring with a jewel sculpted on the top. This was the Binding Band: the ring that will possibly seal Bowser and Princess Peach's love together. But of course, the latter already gave her heart to the hero who prepared to give the Koopalings a pounding. Mario cracked his knuckles and watch the Koopalings tug on the massive ring.

"Come on, guys!" Junior snarled. "Put some back into it!"

"A girl like me doesn't lift as much as Morton and Roy do!" Wendy retorted. "Why are you making _me _do this!?"

"Oh, shut up!" Roy yelled. "Junior got us into this mess, so you're sticking with us until the end!"

"All I wanted to do was stay home and paint my nails! Why does this have to happen to me!?"

"_Ahem!_" Mario said. The four Koopalings turned around and saw an aggravated Mario approaching them from behind. "Unless you four want to keep your shells on, I suggest you let that ring go!"

Junior jumped off the ring, placed his mask on, and whipped out his paint brush. "You wanna rumble, old man? Let's go-"

_**SNATCH!**_

A pair of stone hands came from above and grabbed the four Koopalings. Then, the left hand stormed over and grabbed the heroes as well. It held them tight, as both hands hovered to a massive field that was covered in white sand and planks of ice. The platform stood over a bottomless pit and it dropped the heroes onto the dirt. The hands suddenly flew up towards the ceiling.

But before they disappeared from sight, Cappy was able to get a good look at them.

They were giant stone hands with a golden plate on each hand and a purple gem in the center. They reached for the top and grabbed something that stuck out. The massive object suddenly crashed into the ground, scaring both the heroes and the villains.

Said object was a giant stone head with a frightening face, closed eyes, and a golden nose ring that mirrored his earrings. On the top of the head was a crown made of ice. The only parts not made from ice were green and blue details made to look like jewels. Inside of the ice crown as another Multi-Moon. Mario and Luigi gasped at the Multi-Moon before the hands suddenly swarmed around the face. The face made a slight moan before he growled.

"You think that's Knucklotec?" Luigi gulped, gripping his vacuum.

"Let's see, giant fists, crown made of ice, looks like he wants to crush us," Mario stroked his chin. "Yeah, I think this is him."

"_**Thieves… Bad thieves…" **_Knucklotec scowled at everyone on the field. _**"Ring stays… You GOOOOOO!" (4)**_

And just like that, a battle began.

It started once Knucklotec threw his left first forward, throwing a massive punch at Mario and Junior. But the two gasped and moved to the side at the last second. Luigi and Cappy screamed before they joined Mario in running to the right. Junior snarled and took out his paintbrush. He and his siblings shot powerful balls of paint and magic at the guardian, but their hits meant nothing. Knucklotec turned to the side and threw his right hand at them.

The four Koopalings ducked into the shells and dodged to the right.

Mario grabbed Cappy and threw him forward, hoping to capture the guardian, but the Bonnetor bounced off Knucklotec's cheek. The guardian snarled and swung his hands at the heroes, missing them instantly.

Mario and Luigi long jumped forward, avoiding another attack.

The four Koopalings shot their magic spells at the guardian, but like before, their attacks did nothing.

"Forget using magic!" Morton snarled. "I'm gonna sick this guy!"

The brown-skinned Koopa ran forward and fired a punch on Knucklotec's cheek…

…in the process, he injure his hand.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Morton cried, sucking on his fingers. "His head's like a brick!"

Knucklotec roared at the Koopalings and hovered his right hand over their bodies.

"Go, go, go!" Junior hollered, as he and his siblings ran to the right, dodging the shards of ice on the ground. Suddenly, Knucklotec slammed his palm against the ice shard, hurting himself in the process.

"_**OUCH!"**_

Cappy widened his eyes once he saw that. "Mario, I have an idea! Throw me at Knucklotec's hand. If we can't possess Knucklotec himself-"

"Say no more, my friend," Mario nodded, as he grabbed his hat and threw it at the jewel on Knucklotec's hand. Once he captured it, he soared towards the guardian's face. Knucklotec panicked and shot blocks of ice out of his free hand. But Mario was moving too fast that the guardian couldn't touch him.

Suddenly, Mario fired a powerful punch against Knucklotec's face.

The collision caused Mario and Cappy to release Knucklotec's hand.

"This is all a misunderstanding, Guardian Knucklotec!" Cappy pleaded. "My friends and I are here to protect the ring from these guys. An evil man named Bowser wants it for his wedding! Please, don't make us hurt you like this!"

"_**Thieves… Thieves must GO!" **_Knucklotec scowled once again, as he shot both of his fists forward.

The tip of the right knuckle smacked Mario across the face, which frightened Luigi and Egon. Junior met the same fate as the plumber. Wendy was worried, Roy and Morton were laughing. Mario fell on the floor and watched Knucklotec return to the arena. The guardian roared and hovered his hand over the heroes' heads. Luigi screamed and grabbed his brother, running down the battlefield for dear life. Junior and the Koopalings watched Mario's attack and nodded their heads.

"We can use that hat to our advantage!" Junior pointed at Cappy. "Grab that hat, Koopalings!"

Morton, Wendy, and Roy rushed towards their opponents before they were suddenly halted by Knucklotec.

"_**Bandits must GO! Leave Ring alone!" **_

"Run away!" Roy exclaimed.

"No way!" Junior jumped over the stone guardian's fist. "That hat's mine!"

As Mario and Luigi ran down the battlefield, Junior halted them.

"Hand over that hat, Mario!"

"Get out of here!" Luigi grunted, kicking Junior across the face. "I'll-a take care of the Koopalings, Mario! You try to reason with Knucklotec!"

"I don't-a think he's in the mood to be-a reasoned with!" Mario chuckled worryingly.

"Watch out!" Cappy warned.

Like before, Knucklotec slammed his hand on top of a block of ice, hurting himself in the process. Mario grabbed Cappy and took control of his hand. He performed the same procedure by maneuvering through missiles made of ice until he landed another punch across Knucklotec's face.

Luigi smacked, punched, and kicked Junior before he was ambushed by the other Koopalings.

As the battle raged on, the Broodals snuck inside with their airship and surrounded the Binding Band. Since Madame Broode and Spewart were the strongest out of them, they grabbed the ring and lifted it off the shrine.

"Hurry up, hurry up," Topper exclaimed. "I don't want to be fighting whatever _that _thing is!"

"Quit your yammering," Madame Broode rolled her eyes. She and Spewart hopped onto the ship and they all took off. But before they flew to the surface, Rango tapped his leader on the shoulder.

"We can't just leave the Koopalings here, Boss," he said. "Bowser will kill us if he finds out his son was killed by a giant… uh, stone thing."

Topper huffed. "Fine!"

The Broodals' airship came down and Hariet held out her hand. Luigi tussled around with the Koopalings until Wendy kicked him onto his side. Knucklotec slammed his fist against the ground, nearly hitting Wendy and Luigi. The female Koopaling fell beside her brothers, as they heard a loud whistle come from Hariet. They turned around and saw that they got the Binding Band in their clutches.

"Come on, ya idiots!" Topper shouted. "We don't have all day!"

"Aww, I wanted to steal that!" Junior whined.

"Shut up, _just shut up!_" Wendy howled at her brother. "We're already in enough danger, let's get out of here before we're crushed! Come on! Let me go first!"

Wendy shoved her brothers to the side and ran down the battlefield with them following behind. Mario and Cappy dodged to the right and saw the villains making a run for it.

"Hey!" Mario shouted to Knucklotec. "They've got the ring! Aren't you going to stop them!?"

Blinded by rage, Knucklotec was focused on crushing Mario. _**"You take Ring! Thief must DIE!"**_

"Yikes!" Mario somersaulted forward, allowing Knucklotec to hurt himself on a chunk of ice. As that happened, the Broodals and the Koopalings regrouped and their airship flew towards a light on the ceiling. Luigi watched them escape, as he avoided a punch from Knucklotec's free hand.

"Hurry, Mario! Finish this off!"

"Will do, Luigi!"

Without hesitation, Mario captured Knucklotec's hand and flew towards the aggravated guardian. Knucklotec gasped and chucked tons of ice missiles forward. He shot them faster and faster, hoping he'd throw the hero off balance. Luigi and Egon watched from below. The former was sweating, and his heart was pounding.

Mario dodged a few more attacks until he landed one last punch until he gave Knucklotec one last taste of his medicine. _**(4s)**_

The giant head tumbled across the ground and his ice crown suddenly exploded. The Multi-Moon shot out and rolled on the sand. Knucklotec stopped tumbling and released a loud moan. His hands feel beside him, and he glared at the heroes.

Looking up at the empty shrine, he said something before he was down for the count. _**"Get… get…"**_

Mario and Luigi listened to what he was saying.

"_**Get… ring… back…"**_

Closing his eyes, Knucklotec accepted defeat.

Grabbing the Multi-Moon, Mario and Cappy shared a nod with Luigi.

* * *

After getting back above Knucklotec's base, Mario and Luigi spent the rest of their time searching for more Power Moons so they can power up the Odyssey. The two brothers were talking by the Odyssey; they were discussing their next plan of attack and hanging up decorations and collectibles given to them by thankful pedestrians. As Luigi hung up a banner with the Sand Kingdom's logo, Mario was resuming his next plan of attack.

"So, we have to keep collecting all of these Power Moons if we want to keep the Odyssey up and running," he said. "With the Power Moons we've collected from our fight with Knucklotec and the ones we've found from around here, we have a total of eighty-four Power Moons. We should collect more so we can get to Bowser's Castle in time."

"This was so much easier when we traveled through places labeled something dash one or so and so dashed two," Luigi quipped.

"Believe me, Luigi," Mario shrugged. "This is new for me too. But we have to keep moving. We can't give up on Peach and Cappy's family."

"Right. I'll be here if you need anything, Bro."

"Grazie, Luigi."

"Molto prego."

"Hey, Cappy," Mario turned to the left. "May I have a word with you for a moment? Listen, I want to apologize for hurting you when we fought Wario and Waluigi. I shouldn't have been so reckless like-a that. I just want to get out of here, so we can find Princess Peach. But I should've realized that this isn't about me, it's about _us_. _We're _in this together because both of our loved ones are in danger. If we want to save them, we gotta work together… and with that being said, I'm sorry for angering you."

Cappy took some time to register all that he heard, and he smiled. "It's okay, Mario. I forgive you. But please, do be mindful of my powers next time."

"I will," Mario winked with a thumbs up.

Luigi placed on the last decoration and wiped his hands. "Okie-Dokie, we're-a ready to go, everyone! All aboard!"

Exchanging a glance, Mario and Cappy entered the Odyssey with Luigi. Together, they drove the ship into the air, and they took to the skies, awaiting their next adventure…

…but down below, they were being watched by Wario and Waluigi.

"Wow, eighty-four Power Moons?" Waluigi whistled. "That's impressive."

"_Heh_, just wait until we catch up with you, Mario," Wario clenched his fist. "You won't be holding onto those Power Moons for long."

_**END OF CHAPTER 7**_

* * *

_And just like that, the Sand Kingdom arc of this story has been completed. When I originally wrote this story, I gave up before the Sand Kingdom arc could end because I had a serious case of Writer's Block. Then again, my original story was way too cluttered and took a while to get to the point unlike this one, which starts right at the beginning and works its way to where it is now. Speaking of now, we're heading down to the Lake Kingdom. Yep, we're not heading to the Wooded Kingdom for now, we're going to the Lake Kingdom. Why? I have some jokes planned for the Lake Kingdom as well as the arrival of a new character. Stay tuned as Mario and Luigi make their way to the next kingdom in..._

_"Chapter 8: Just Keep Swimming!"_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_I could have given Bowser Jr, Wendy, Morton, and Roy a bigger role in this chapter aside from fighting against Mario and Luigi, but luckily, I do plan to use the Koopalings more in the future of this story. Even though these guys have some serious one-dimensional personalities, I still like them. My personal favorites are Ludwig, Iggy, and Lemmy. Those three will make an appearance again soon along with Larry. _

_I love the Sand Kingdom in the actual game. Writing this arc and completing it was such a relief. As I said before, I never completed the Sand Kingdom's rewrite in the original story, so I was glad to complete it this time. Back then, I never knew the definition of keeping things simple, so that's what I'm going to do with this story. Make it simple, but find ways to make it creative and memorable. You all know what I'm talking about, right?_

_The reason why I'm moving to the Lake Kingdom instead of the Wooded Kingdom is because I have more plans for the former than I do with the latter. That, and I always choose the Lake Kingdom first because of the visuals, the people I meet there, the oceanic environments, and the fact I get to possess the Cheep-Cheep. I've always wanted to take control of those things after they kept mugging me in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Plus, I have a special joke planned for when Mario and Luigi arrive at the Lake Kingdom._

_And that's all I have to say, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all so much for reading. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	8. Just Keep Swimming!

_**A/N:**__ Hello, everyone! Sorry for the late update, but if you all saw the one posted on May 12th, 2020, you would all understand I am mainly devoting myself to original content. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on this story and Sonic Heroes: The Atom Bomb. After playing Luigi's Mansio 3 for the first time (I'm still in the beginning section), I've got the motivation to write this again. And thank goodness too, I now have a lot of new ideas for this and I'm excited to show them to all of you! Speaking of which, thanks for a total of **69 reviews, over 30 favorites, and over 20 follows! **You guys keep me rocking! So let's get to it!_

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Piranha Plant's Lullaby (Piano) - Super Mario 64 OST_**

**_(2) Lake Lamode 1 - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show!_

* * *

**Just Keep Swimming!**

Ludwig was always considered the smartest out of the Koopalings, but no one ever knew he was the most musically talented. Everyone else's favorite instrument was either a magic wand, Bob-omb, or some other weapon of mass destruction. Ludwig, he always preferred to play the piano.

Inside his room in Bowser's Kingdom, he sat by said device and strummed his fingers across the keys, playing a harmonic yet energetic melody. With his eyes closed and his toes tapping, he was completely lost in the music with no way of being disturbed.

Well, until he realized that a certain someone was standing behind him.

"Ludwig?"

The blue-haired Koopaling slammed his fists against the piano and screamed, which caused him to fall off his chair. Glancing at the person who scared him, he prepared to make them suffer his wrath. But he held back his fury when he saw that it was his father. King Beret sat directly on top of his head.

"Hi, Father," Ludwig greeted, brushing off his knees. "May I assist you?"

"This is a weird time to notice this now, but have you seen Junior, Wendy, Morton, and Roy?" The soon to be groom inquired. "I've been looking for them all day."

"Knowing those guys, they probably went behind your back."

Bowser laughed at that remark, as he folded his arms. "That's ridiculous! My own children would _never _go behind my back!"

Suddenly, the Broodals not only entered with the Binding Band but the four Koopalings that sat in Madame Broode's clutches.

"What's up, Doc?" Topper waved.

Bowser turned to his new minions and gasped, gazing at the giant ring. "You did it! You actually got The Binding Band!"

He rushed forward and grabbed it from Topper, noticing it was bulkier than he thought. "Wow, this thing is hefty as heck! I thought it was a tiny, little ring and not this huge thing! It's gonna be a little hard to put this on Peach's finger, but looking at it, it could work as a belt-"

Interrupting himself mid-sentence, Bowser glanced at the four children Madame Broode placed down.

"What are you four doing here?" he asked.

"They went behind your back, Boss," Spewart chuckled.

Ludwig snickered once he heard.

"You did _what!?_" The King Koopa snarled at his four traitors.

"Look, Dad, we wanted to make amends for screwing everything up before," Junior heavily explained. Sweat poured from his forehead. "We felt bad for not getting the supplies, so I thought I'd help the Broodals with their job."

"And by help, I assume you got angry and decided to beat them up, right?" Bowser clenched his fist.

"Hey, that's exactly what happened," Morton smiled. Wendy nudged him in the stomach.

Bowser slammed his foot against the ground and roared in anger. Placing the Binding Band down, he stormed towards his children and grabbed them by their shells. "That's it! I think it's time we bring back my personal favorite punishment: Lecture Hour!"

All four Koopalings moaned.

"Not Lecture Hour," Roy whined.

"Broodals, go get the other supplies!" Bowser demanded in frustration. "I'll be in touch with you later!"

"Come on, Dad!" Junior pleaded.

"Don't you _'come, on, Dad," _me!"

With the door slamming behind the groom, the Broodals shared a gulp.

"Gawrsh, he's kinda scary once you get to know him," Rango scratched his chin.

"Thankfully, we're not gonna get on his bad side anymore," Topper folded his arms. "Come on, Broodals, let's go find those supplies… um, except you, Madame Broode, you stay here."

"What?" the bulky rabbit yelled. "Why!?"

"Well, you see, we… we um… we can't… well, I should say that our battleship can't exactly handle your… your…" Topper snapped his fingers, attempting to sugarcoat his words. "Size. I-it's not that your fat or anything, it's just that you exceed to maximum weight capacity for-"

_**SLAM!**_

Madame Broode slammed her fist against Topper's head, which caused his body to stuck in the ground. Stars and Koopa Shells floated around the rabbit's head, as he had his tongue sticking out. The other Broodals jumped into Rango's arms, preferring to keep their mouths shut.

"_Fine! _I'll stay, but I'm definitely coming aboard the next mission no matter what you say!" Madame Broode snarled. "Come on, Chain Chompikins, you need a bath."

With the giant rabbit exiting, the other Broodals looked down at their leader.

"Do you think she understood what I meant?" Topper asked.

* * *

Aboard the Odyssey, Mario and Luigi stared out the window and sipped their cups of tea. The moon was shining and there were multiple clouds in sight. If the window was open, they could let in some fresh, spring-like air into the ship. It was perfect weather to be flying across the globe, but unfortunately, the heroes weren't here to sight-see, all they wanted to do was head to the next Kingdom and rescue their special ones.

Cappy sat down beside the brothers and nodded. "That monster kidnapped Tiara and my father, and now with this Binding Band, he's got a wedding ring! Is he going to steal a whole wedding?"

"That's Bowser for you," Mario leaned back against the chair. "He never does anything responsibly."

"He likes to take-a the easy way out," Luigi added.

"Makes sense," Cappy nodded. "Thank goodness my mother isn't here to witness this catastrophe, but at the same time, I wish she _was _here. That way, she can help us out. That way, Luigi can have the ability to capture enemies as you can, Mario."

"Oh? Will I be able to capture Boos?" Luigi asked happily.

Mario and Cappy shared a glance before they shook their heads.

Luigi sighed. "I knew it was too good to be true."

"Cappy, where are we going next?" Mario inquired, sipping his beverage.

"Let me see on the brochure," Cappy flipped through his brochure collection. "Thank goodness my father never threw these out when he stopped traveling. Ah, here we go, the Lake Kingdom. It says they're known for their fashion and-oh! There's a famous wedding gown called the Lochlady Dress! Something tells me that's where those Broodals will be heading next."

Mario suddenly yawned. "Let's just-a hope the Koopalings aren't with them this time."

Luigi mirrored Mario's motion and nodded.

"Seems like you guys are getting tired," Cappy chuckled. "Let's get some sleep for tonight. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Way ahead of you," Luigi said. Mario and Cappy looked over and saw that he was in purple-colored pajamas and placed a sleep hat with the same color on his head. He pulled out the chair's recliner before he yawned one last time. With Egon cuddling beside him, Luigi went straight to bed.

Mario stretched his arms before he did the same thing. "Buona Notte, Cappy."

"Banana Natta," Cappy answered.

The plumber raised an eyebrow, wondering how Cappy got such a simple Italian phrase confused for something else. He was about to correct him before he saw that the Bonneter was fast asleep. So, Mario shrugged it off and closed his eyes.

As he slept, he was suddenly trapped in a dream.

* * *

_~Flashback (Mario's Dream)_

It was another long yet peaceful day in the Mushroom King and Mario just returned from Bowser's Castle, where he rescued Princess Peach for the umpteenth time. As much as he enjoyed fighting his arch-nemesis, he prayed for a day he could spend time with his girlfriend without witnessing her capture. Speaking of which, the pink princess ventured off into the grassy fields to find some fruit for her picnic with her boyfriend while he laid on top of a red and white spotted sheet. With his arms folded behind his head, Mario released a loud yawn before he closed his eyes.

He figured he could take a quick nap before Peach returned.

Sleeping through a few minutes of his day, the plumber suddenly realized that evil never sleeps.

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_"

The Mushroom Kingdom was met with one of the loudest sounds it's ever heard.

Mario shot himself upward and his eyes opened quickly, wondering what made that sound. When he heard it again, he concluded that Princess Peach was in danger once again. Looking left and right, he searched the environment for her when he suddenly saw her running through the fields with an apple in her hands. She was being chased by two Koopa Troopas and a blue-shelled Koopa Paratroopa.

_Mama Mia, _he said to himself. _Can't I catch-a break?_

"Hang on, Peach!" he exclaimed, jumping up on his feet. "I'm-a coming!"

Rushing down the hill at the speed of light, Mario accidentally tripped on a brown block before he tumbled down the hill, somersaulting at a rapid speed. Moaning in pain, he finally caught up to his enemies before he kicked a Koopa Troopa in the chest. He untucked from his ball form and rolled his eyes. Princess Peach hopped into the bushes and covered her eyes, afraid to watch the fight.

Mario leaped upward and stomped on top of the Koopa he kicked, forcing it out of its shell. He grabbed said shell and kicked it forward, knocking both Koopas off of their feet.

The only one left standing was the Koopa Paratroopa.

Fluttering its wings, it dived downward and fired a quick punch across the hero's face. To which, Mario jumped backward and tipped his hat. He then climbed on top of a yellow block and tackled the Paratroopa, kicking it into the ground.

Before he could escape, the Paratroopa was forced out of its shell when the heroic plumber jumped on his head. Like before, Mario grabbed the shell and chucked it into the Paratroopa's chest, knocking him against the grass.

All three turtles gulped, grabbed their shells, and ran away.

"Runaway!" one shouted.

"I'm not dealing with this!" shouted another.

"My wife's not gonna like hearing about this!" the third one screamed.

"Yeah, you-a better run!" Mario shook his fist in anger, as he watched the three turtles disappear. Wiping his hands, he chuckled before he turned around. "That was easy. Hey, Peach. Are you… Peach?" _**(1)**_

To his surprise, the pink-dressed princess had her eyes covered and small tears poured down her cheeks.

Mario rushed forward and gently removed her white-gloved hands from her face, seeing that her face was puffy and nearly red. "Hey, Peach. It's okay, they're gone now. I took care of it."

"But I couldn't."

"Hmm?"

Peach closed her eyes for a split second before she looked at her boyfriend. "I didn't know what to do. I wanted to fight them, but I couldn't, and I don't know why! They were just three Koopa Troopas, that's all. It's not like they were Wario or Donkey Kong." She paused, allowing Mario to register what she said.

"Peach, it's okay."

"No! It's _not _okay! What kind of a princess runs away from her worst enemies!? There's a reason I get captured all of the time and it's because I'm weak! A weak, scared little princess who's only ability is to pray a hero comes to save me. That's all I'm good for! I can't fight, I can't protect my own friends, I can't even protect my own kingdom!"

Mario was surprised to hear such out lash from Peach. He knew that she took her job seriously, but he didn't think it would cause her to break down into tears. Peach wiped her eyes and turned around, sitting on top of a brown block. Folding her arms, she wiped her eyes again and sniffed. "I'm sorry for yelling like that, Mario. I'm not mad at you for saving me if that's what you're thinking… I'm mad at myself for not standing up to Bowser as you can. And it makes no sense, not too long ago you told me you'd teach me how to defend myself, but because of how busy we've been, we've only done basic training… and I've clearly showed you I learned nothing."

The plumber gently smiled and approached her. "Peach, what are you talking about? You stand up to Bowser all the time. Here, remember when he kidnapped Luigi, Yoshi, Toad, and I using the magical Vibe Scepter? That's the first time I've ever been captured."

"What about when King Boo trapped you in a painting?"

"We don't talk about that. But getting back on topic, you always tell Bowser to leave your kingdom and say that you'll never surrender to him, no matter how powerful his forces may be."

"Yes, but actions speak louder than words, Mario. Just because I tell him off doesn't mean I'm protecting my kingdom. My Toads _still_ get injured and I _still _get captured… I don't even bother to fight."

"But you _know _how to fight, right? That's why you were invited to the Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl tournaments."

"Those are different. That's more meant for fun. This is serious… if I can't defend myself against Bowser, then what's the purpose of me being a princess?"

Mario replayed that question in his head. _How could she say such a thing?_

Peach pulled back her blonde hair and wiped her eyes once more.

Her boyfriend watched as she covered her eyes and continued weeping softly; he felt bad that she felt this way. Mario knew Peach wasn't the most _skilled _combatant, but during Super Smash Bros., she proved herself as a force to be reckoned with. But as she said, those weren't as serious as the battles she's had with Bowser and his army.

Sitting down next to her, Mario wrapped his arm around Peach and wiped a tear from her eyes. Gazing into her bluebell eyes, he smiled and shot a wink. Peach raised an eyebrow, wondering what was happening.

"Tell you what, Peach… how about I-a help you learn to defend yourself more often? I'll take time out of my normal schedule and help you fight against bad guys. Sound like a plan?"

"R-really?" Mario nodded at Peach's question. "You would do that for me?"

"Yep. We'll go back to basic training before we move onto to bigger things. Before you know it, you'll be just as skilled as-a me and Luigi. Whaddya say, Princess? Do you want me to teach you the ways of Mario-Fu."

"That's not a real style of martial arts."

"If you're Mario, then it's real."

Peach chuckled at her boyfriend's lame joke and bestowed a kiss upon his lips. "Thank you, Mario… A princess like me doesn't deserve someone like you."

Mario smiled and shook his head. "No, no… it's _I _who doesn't deserve _you_."

_~End of Flashback **(1s)**_

* * *

_~Present Day_

"Mario?"

_**ZZZZZZZZZZ**_

"Bro?"

_**ZZZZZZZZZZ**_

"_MARIO, WAKE UP!_"

"_GAH!_" The brown-haired plumber shot himself awake after hearing his brother shout. The scream also scared the Polterpup, Egon, who barked and jumped on top of Mario's head, licking his face. "Hey! Egon, stop that! Ha-ha! Get off of me!"

"Down, boy!" Luigi ordered. To which, Egon leaped off of his owner's brother's face. Mario wiped his cheeks and leaned upward, stretching his arms. "Luigi, why'd you wake me up? I was just having a perfect dream about Peach."

"Sorry, Bro. But we arrived at our next Kingdom. I believe it's called Lake Lamode."

"Really? Where's Cappy?"

"He's outside. Let's-a go!"

"Okay, okay, I'm-a coming! Sheesh!"

Mario and Luigi quickly walked outside of the Odyssey and walked down the bridge. From there, they were amazed by what they gazing at. _**(2)**_

Below their brown boots was a shade of dark green grass that gently blew against their ankles. It was soft, luscious, and clean. Not a single piece of litter was in sight. A few bushes were sitting on top of ledges, but that wasn't the only sight to behold. In front of the brothers was a crystal-clear lake with a small castle-like structure all the way in front of it. There were grassy platforms for people to sit on and there were small structures in the water like stairs and ruins. They looked like they were shot down by an explosive.

Mario's jaw nearly dropped to the ground when he looked at the mountains surrounding the kingdom. They were almost rock-like, but they were designed to resemble seashells. Quite a spectacle, huh?

Luigi smiled and ran forward with Egon by his side. Mario looked down and watched the two approach Cappy, who was talking to a creature he's never seen before. She was a mermaid-esc creature with blue skin and a blue dress made of scales. Her hair was as blue as the sand beneath her and she looked to be upset.

Raising an eyebrow, Mario approached his friends and asked, "Excuse me, Miss. What seems to be the problem here?"

The mermaid removed her hands from her eyes and explained. "My goodness! It's terrible! Our precious Power Moons are being stolen by two thieves inside the kingdom. I'm afraid they're going after the Lochlady dress!"

"What do they look like?" Cappy inquired.

"One of them looks like a fat version of this red man here, and the other one looks like a rejected fan character of you, green-hatted man."

Mario and Luigi knew exactly who she was talking about.

"You said they're inside the kingdom?" the former questioned. "How do we get inside?"

"I'd suggest you take the Water Plaza to the Underwater Entrance, but they used Bom-Ombs to destroy the stairs. But there is another way you can get in. See that structure over there?" she pointed to the castle sitting on top of the lake. "There's a zipper that leads to a tunnel and the Underwater Entrance lies in there. If you can get inside and stop those two thieves, we can get our Power Moons back and protect our Lochlady Dress."

Mario nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Grazie, Miss. Come on, guys. Let's-a go!"

"Hold on, Bro. I think I saw a Power Moon somewhere around here," Luigi approached a small section of sand and ground pounded the dirt. A pink-colored Power Moon sprouted from the ground and he sucked it up with his Poltergust 5000. "At least they didn't get _all _of the Power Moons."

"But we need to stop them from getting more," Cappy nodded. "Let's get moving."

Mario and Luigi jumped into the water with Cappy resting on the former's head. The brothers hopped on top of a few platforms before they made their way to the castle's rooftop thanks to a flower that shot them upward - the top of it was like a spring where users could bounce off of it. From there, they noticed a giant-sized zipper waiting at the edge of the wall. Mario threw Cappy forward and captured the zipper.

Following an oddly designed pattern on the ground, the floor suddenly fell beneath Luigi's feet. Mario released the tool from his capture, as he and Luigi fell straight into the water. Both of them swam upward and coughed up water from their mouths.

Egon followed the two brothers and casually floated across the lake.

"He's lucky he's a ghost, he doesn't have to worry about drowning," Mario commented

"Lucky for me, I always carry some Power-Ups," Luigi smiled, as he whipped out his wallet and navigated through his inventory. It didn't take long for him to find his navy blue penguin suit with green overalls. He placed it on and waved his flippers.

"Sweet, it's been a while since we've worn penguin suits. Do you have another?"

"Sorry, Bro. This is the only one I have."

"Well, thanks for the help, Luigi," Mario said sarcastically.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!"

"It's okay, Mario," Cappy winked. "There are a lot of Cheep Cheeps in these waters, so…"

"Oh, yeah," Mario snapped his fingers. He sucked in enough air and dove deep into the water. He and Luigi swam around for a few minutes before they came across a lone Cheep Cheep. Mario grabbed his Bonneter and threw him forward, capturing the Cheep Cheep with ease.

"Good thinking, Mario," Luigi nodded. "Now, you don't need to worry about air."

"It feels weird being in this body," Mario replied. "And why do I have this sudden urge to find a missing clownfish?"

Luigi shrugged his shoulders at that remark.

The brothers navigated through a dark tunnel where the seaweed started coming to life. With their huge googly eyes, they stormed towards the brothers with intent to kill them. Luckily, Mario spun around in his new fish body, which made a small wave that destroyed the seaweed creatures. Luigi simply froze them with balls of ice. Egon just ate one of them before the components floated out of his stomach.

They searched the environment before they came across a light at the end of the tunnel.

From there, they were greeted to a more beautiful sight. As if the surface wasn't pretty enough, they were more fascinated by the Underwater Entrance.

A wide-open kingdom where Cheep Cheeps casually swam about their day and where schools of yellow fish followed behind. The walls were rock, but like the mountains, they were sculpted to look like seashells. The floor was sandy, but the light gave it a slight blue color, which made Luigi's eyes light up like sparklers.

Mario looked around at the many mermaids swimming around and the ancient pillars sticking up from the ground. But suddenly, a shadow loomed over his body. Looking upward, he gasped because of a large blue creature known as a plesiosaur. It had a top hat and a yellow swimming mask with a red strap.

It looked down at Mario and waved. "Hello, my name's Dorrie!"

"Nice to meet you!" Mario waved back.

Upon seeing Dorrie, Luigi gasped. "Whoa! That guy reminds me of Plessie!"

"Don't remind me of that guy. It took you, Peach, Goggles, and I thirty times to make him turn left!"

Luigi chuckled at his brother's joke before they swam upward, greeting Dorrie. "Pardon me, good sir, but we heard from someone above that two thieves are here. Is that true?"

"Thieves?" Dorrie gasped. "I don't remember seeing any thieves come by here. I sure hope they're not after the Lochlady Dress."

"What's so special about this dress anyway?" Mario inquired.

"I can answer that," Cappy raised his nub of a hand. "It's said that the Lochlady Dress, made by mermaids called Lochladies, is a national treasure of the Lake Kingdom. Whoever wears it is granted with eternal happiness. It should be located inside that bubble right there."

Cappy pointed to the left and saw a large bubble guarding a structure on the inside. Multi-colored Lochladies were raising their hands, they were all outside another one of the Crazy Cap stores Mario's see throughout his adventure so far.

"Hey, we went there in the Sand Kingdom, didn't we?" Luigi inquired.

"Yes, we did," Mario nodded. "Why would Wario and Waluigi march in there?"

"Let's find out," Cappy nodded.

The travelers swam towards the front of the bubble and entered the kingdom. When they did, they quickly realized there was no water inside, nothing but fresh air all around. Luigi jumped out of his penguin suit whereas Mario gasped and coughed for air. He jumped on his side and flopped around manically.

Luigi and Egon blankly stared.

"Mario," Cappy called.

Mario kept jumping.

"Mario!"

He still kept going.

"_MARIO!_"

"What!? I can't-a breathe!"

"Let go of the Cheep Cheep!"

"…oh."

Mario did as he was told and released the red fish. It exploded into a cloud of dust when that happened.

Brushing his overalls, Mario looked up and saw Lochladies gathered around the shop like before. All of them exchanged murmurs about what was happening. Nodding to his brother, he took off towards a door that was filled with water, hoping he could swim up to the top. But before he took one step, he noticed there was a giant pool in the ground, it lead to a dark tunnel below. But what intrigued Mario the most was that he heard someone singing down there, they were off-key.

"What is that?" Mario inquired.

"Sounds like a Chain Chomp gurgling rotten Mushrooms," Luigi cringed.

"I'll see what's down there since I can possess another Cheep Cheep. You go upstairs and stop Wario and Waluigi."

"Got it, Bro."

Sharing a fist-bump, the two brothers split up into different directions.

Mario went back outside and quickly captured another Cheep Cheep. Upon returning to the Water Plaza Entrance, he hopped inside the pool and swam downward. He was thankful he didn't do this without a Cheep Cheep, otherwise, he would've drowned before reaching the halfway point.

As he descended the pool, the obnoxious singing voice got louder and more annoying.

"What is that awful sound?" Cappy questioned.

"I don't know," Mario replied. "But I think I may know who it is."

It didn't take long for the two heroes to reach the bottom of the pool, where they saw a plastic bubble that guarded a campsite. There was a tan tent made of sticks and cloth in the left corner and a chair towards its right. Sitting on top of it was a familiar face, one Mario didn't expect to see.

"Toad?" he inquired.

Leader of the Toad Brigade, Captain Toad sat on a green chair playing the banjo. Not only was his singing awful, but his instrument was out of tune and two of its strings were broken. But he didn't seem to care, all he wanted was to serenade something with his music. Unfortunately, every fish grew annoyed and swam away.

Mario entered the bubble and the captain opened his eyes. Upon seeing the Cheep Cheep, he screamed.

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHH! **_Get back, you savage!"

"Wait, Toad, it's me-_yikes!_"

Captain Toad got up and started smacking the Italian Cheep Cheep with his guitar, making sure it left him alone. "Get out of here, you disgusting freak! This is _my _campsite!"

"_Ow! _Toad, stop it! _Ow! _It's-a me, Mario!"

The plumber released the fish and tossed it out of the camp site's bubble, rubbing his head in pain. Captain Toad raised his guitar, ready to hit Mario again, but he stopped because he noticed the plumber was back to normal. Cappy still sat on top of his companion's head.

"M-Mario?" the captain raised an eyebrow. "Is that you?"

Cappy morphed back to his normal self and flew off Mario's head. "Mario, are you okay?"

"_EGAD! _A g-g-ghost!"

Captain Toad whacked Cappy's head with his banjo.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop!" Mario jumped up and grabbed the instrument from Captain Toad's hands. "Toad, take an easy. This is not a ghost, it's my new friend Cappy. Calm down before you hurt anyone else, and I'm not just talking about physically hurting someone, I'm also referring to that awful singing voice."

"Awful? Excuse me, but I sing like an angel."

Mario rolled his eyes, helping Cappy up. "Sure you do, Toad."

"What are you doing here, Mario? Did I miss you and Peach's wedding?"

"No, you didn't. I didn't even propose. I was going to before Bowser kidnapped, he's going to marry her himself. Not only that, but he also kidnapped Cappy's family. He's using his father as a weapon and his sister as a bridesmaid for Peach's wedding."

Captain Toad gasped when he heard all of that. "Oh, no, that's awful! Bowser's kidnapped Peach multiple times, but now he's kidnapping family members! That's a new low, even for Bowser!"

"We're collecting relics called Power Moons to help us out," Cappy chimed in. "They come in various colors and they're used as energy sources for different kingdoms. They originate in the Cap Kingdom, but back before we isolated ourselves from the outside world, we would sell them to different kingdoms. Bowser attacked my home and probably sent Power Moons all over the place. Have you seen any of them?"

"Do they come in pink?"

"Yes?"

"Then, I have one! I picked it up thinking I could sell it to the Pawn Toad, but you guys need it more than I do. Here you go."

Captain Toad kindly handed the Power Moon to the heroes. Mario grabbed it and gave a thumbs up.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Captain Toad inquired. "I'd love to do anything I can."

"Depends," Mario folded his arms. "Is the Toad Brigade still together?"

"Somewhat."

"What do you mean, somewhat?"

"After our last Galaxy adventure, members of the Toad Brigade started venturing off on their own. Mailtoad's off delivering mail to different kingdoms, Banktoad's trying to pay off rent, and I'm not sure what Goggles and Dozer are up to. Well, one of them is probably sleeping on the job as usual. But Toadette and I are still together if that helps."

"Works for me," Mario nodded. "Where is she?"

"She's up above collecting these golden Moon Shards she saw earlier. She thinks that if they're combined together, they can make something special. I'll get her once we get back to the surface. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Just be prepared to stomp on Wario and Waluigi's faces," Mario slammed his fists together."

Captain Toad gulped. "We can never get a break from those two, can we?"

"Sadly… no."

Thanks to a Warp Pipe sitting against the wall, Mario and Captain Toad jumped inside, hoping to stop Wario and Waluigi in time. _**(2s)**_

* * *

Above the Water Plaza itself, archeologist Toadette walked through a grassy platform with a bag full of Moon Shards she discovered in the ocean. She was in the middle of searching for the last one, which she concluded was above the Underwater Entrance. She walked through the platform with her magnifying glass in hand, searching carefully for the last Moon Shard.

As she searched, she couldn't help but soak in the scenery around her.

The moon was full, but the sky made it look like it was daytime. She adored all of the grassy landmarks around her and how well they contrasted with the ancient ruins. She even chuckled when she saw a pink female Goomba with a red hat reject a party of five male Goombas.

"I guess they're not her type," Toadette chuckled, as she kept walking. "This kingdom is so beautiful. I know I say that about every new place I go to, but this place is truly amazing! It makes me wonder why the Toad Brigade and I can't come to places like this often. All we do is fly around on a little airship fighting Bowser's goons. It's nice to just sit back and treasure hunt."

She paused because she came across the last Moon Shard, which stuck out from the dirt.

"Hey! There's the last of those shards!" she cheered, as she ran towards it and tugged on it.

At first, it wouldn't budge, but after two strong pulls, she yanked it out and brushed it off with a white cloth. She shielded her eyes once its gold features were revealed. "Perfect! I'm hoping this does something with the other shards I found! As someone who knows a lot about Power Stars, I can guarantee that this will form some kind of moon relic. But as I was saying before…"

She looked back up at the sky, taking a breath of satisfaction.

"No Bowser… no Koopalings… no giant monsters… no-"

Suddenly, her body was blanketed by a body of darkness, and the sound of a propeller echoed across the Lake Kingdom. Toadette wondered what was happening and looked upward. "Airships?"

A large brown airship floated right above her head.

She stuffed the Moon Shard in her backpack and ran forward, hoping to get a better look.

All four of the Broodals stood and waited for a clear spot to jump down. Once they did, all four of them landed against the grass, which caused the platform to shake. Toadette fell on her rear when that happened, and she accidentally spilled the Moon Shards when that happened.

Spewart noticed her and shot a wild grin. "Hey, look at that, fellas."

Rango turned to the small mushroom girl and cackled. "Gawrsh, Topper. It looks like she's got some pieces to a Power Moon, _ha-yuck!_"

"Grab her," Topper snarled. "Maybe she can tell us where the Lochlady Dress is. Hahahahahahahaha!"

Toadette crawled back, intimidated by the sight of the Broodals.

She wasn't sure who they were, nor was she interested in finding out.

* * *

_**END OF CHAPTER 8**_

_What's this? A cliffhanger? SpiderDom, how could you do that!? I know, I know, I probably could have done the fight scene here. But I wanted to save it for a different chapter. Our new characters are here and they're in the form of Captain Toad and Toadette. Sadly, they won't be joining Mario and Luigi in their Odyssey Brigade, but they'll have their own roles in the story. Be sure to look out for that. With the Broodals showing up here again, this means we're going to have to fight for the Lochlady Dress. Tune in next time as we enter the fight of the century._

**_It's The Mario Bros. vs The Wario Bros vs Da Broodals in..._**

_"Chapter 9: Battle For The Dress"_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_Some little Finding Nemo jokes are scattered around in this chapter. I couldn't resist myself, lol!_

_Originally, I was going to have Toad and Toadette as part of the Odyssey crew, but I didn't want to repeat a countless mistake I make with some Sonic stories I have; too many characters. So, for the Odyssey crew, I'm having up to around seven characters as the main team. Obviously, Mario, Luigi, and Cappy are the main three. Who are the other four? That's for me to know and for you to find out ;)._

_Mario worrying about drowning is a reference to the first time I found Captain Toad in the water hole. I didn't think of getting a Cheap Cheap, so I just went down there and spammed the Ground Pound button. Miraculously, I survived._

_Isn't Lake Lamode's music so soothing?_

_And that's all, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for reading the chapter! Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


	9. Battle for the Dress

_**A/N:** Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another update of Superstar Adventure and Happy 1st Day of June, everyone. It's hard to believe it's June already, which also means it's Quarantine Day #... whatever, I lost count. I want to give a special shout out to a new friend of mine, StarlitDuck for taking a look at this story from the beginning. He/she is on Chapter 4, I believe, but they took the time to write down their thoughts on what they think of the story so far. Can I say that your reviews definitely made my day! Quarantine's been a little rough despite me having some time to be creative as well as my job as a Shipt Shopper, but hey, I'm gonna stay positive and writing this and just Mario in general always makes me positive._

**_Suggested Music:_**

**_(1) Sad Girl - Super Mario Galaxy OST_**

**_(2) Broodals Battle - Super Mario Odyssey OST_**

_Without further ado, enjoy the show_

* * *

**Battle For The Dress**

_**(1) **_Back at Bowser's Kingdom, Princess Peach and Tiara finally got a moment to themselves when they were brought back to their jail cells thanks to a few Koopa Troopas. The two of them were exhausted from the long day they've had, and they were also sick of being trapped inside the castle in the first place. Peach leaned her head against the bars of her cell, hoping that Mario and Tiara's brother would bust down the door and set them free. But the longer Peach waited, the more impatient she got.

Closing her bluebell eyes, she released a low sigh and glanced over at Tiara, who hid her tears from the princess's sight. She didn't want to see her crying for the umpteenth time; it's all she's done since she was taken from her kingdom.

Feeling sorrow for the Cap Kingdom's princess, Peach rubbed her head and got up from her seat. She slowly approached her new friend and sat down next to her, wrapping her arm around her.

"Are you all right, Tiara?" she inquired.

"Hmm?" the Bonneter sniffed, wiping her eyes with her nubs. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't mean to weep like this. I've been doing this ever since we arrived here."

"Hey, I don't blame you," Peach chuckled. "_I _cried every time I got captured by Bowser in the past. I wasn't healthy for me both mentally and physically. For the former, I felt nothing but sadness and for the latter, my face would be all red. I looked like a walking tomato."

Tiara snickered when she heard that. "You're funny."

"Thanks. One of the things Luigi taught me is you can't get through life without a sense of humor."

"Who told you that?"

"Luigi, he's Mario's brother. He's a really sweet guy. He does get flustered and he's easily frightened, but he knows how to be brave when the time comes. You should see the way he catches ghosts, it's incredible!"

"Ha-ha, I bet it is," Tiara paused for a moment of silence. "Say, you and I never talked much aside from the conversation we had in the bathroom, which I apologize for."

"Don't be. We never had time to talk with each other."

"Right… might as well take this opportunity to get to know each other, right? Tell me about yourself, Peach. Where are you from?"

"Well, I'm the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and when I'm not getting captured by Bowser, I spend a lot of time with Mario and my friends. I play video games with the Toads, I jog around Toad Town, I would occasionally vacation in Sarasaland and visit my cousin Daisy, I basically learn how to have fun while ruling my kingdom responsibly. I'll admit, I'm not a _perfect _princess, as I do get captured all of the time and make silly mistakes, but my colleague Toadsworth is always there to cheer me up."

"Sounds like you and I have a lot in common than I thought," Tiara smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well, except for a few things. Back in the Cap Kingdom, I'm always learning how to be a proper princess, but I also find time to have fun. My brother Cappy and I play pranks on some of our friends, we chase the frogs around, we capture random items and take control of them, and… well, we don't do this as much as we used to, but we liked to travel with our parents. It was fun while it lasted."

"You guys liked to travel, huh? Where did you guys go?"

"Oh, we went to all sorts of places! We mainly ventured to different kingdoms around the globe and they were amazing! My personal favorite is the Seaside Kingdom. The crystal-clear ocean, the clean sand, the crabs that liked to pinch Cappy, that kingdom was like heaven to me. We'd always go there after we visit places like the Metro Kingdom, the Lake Kingdom, Wooded Kingdom, etc… but unfortunately, we don't travel anymore. I feel like when Cappy and I bring up traveling, my father's always reminded of what happened to my mother."

Peach's jaw partly dropped to the ground when she heard that last remark. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mother?"

"I don't know much, Cappy probably knows more than I do," Tiara sighed. "My parents took a trip to the Metro Kingdom once and my father was the only one who returned. We asked where she was, and he didn't respond. All he does it lower his head in shame and walk away. Since then, he's decided to keep the Cap Kingdom isolated from the other kingdoms around the world."

"Do you think something bad happened to your mother?"

"I… I don't know."

Peach didn't bother to ask anything else regarding Tiara's mother because the Bonneter herself was already depressed. But she wasn't as sad as she was before. Talking to someone definitely helped her on an emotional level, but she would feel a lot better if she was away from Bowser's clutches.

Leaning against the brick wall, Peach stroked her chin and tapped the left side of her forehead. Thinking of her next part of their conversation, she gasped and snapped her fingers. "Tiara, tell you what. Let's work out a deal. If you help me formulate a plan that'll get both of us out of here, we'll go to the Metro Kingdom and find your mother."

Tiara's eyes widened when she heard that. "W-what?"

"You said the last time King Beret saw your mother was when they took their trip to the Metro Kingdom, right? What if she's still there? Maybe something happened between the two that caused her to leave, who knows? But we won't find out until we go there and find her ourselves."

"That… sounds quite astute."

"Yeah, I'm totally whatever you said. So, are you in?" she held out her white-gloved hand.

Tiara looked down at the princess's hand and thought about her decision. While she didn't like to think something bad happened to her mother, she was also determined to find out why King Beret came back alone. Every time she asked, she got nothing as an answer, and it started to annoy her. If she took this opportunity, she could possibly find out the full story.

Nodding to the princess, she held out her nub and shook her hand.

"All right, Princess Peach, let's bust out of here."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

The two prisoners shared a high-five and nodded, beginning their plan of escape.

* * *

"_**Waaaaaaaaah! **_Put all of the money in the bag!"

Waluigi and his partner, Wario were inside the Lake Kingdom's Crazy Cap store, where they hoped to steal some Power Moons as well as acquire gold coins from the register. Both of them wore ski masks and dug through the selection of clothes the store owners had, hoping to find some hidden treasure. As Wario scrambled through a cabinet of hats and clothes, Waluigi held a sandbag up to the register…

…or at least, he thought he was doing that.

A Lochlady in front of the cash register glanced at her partner before she said to the robber, "Excuse me, sir. You're facing the wrong way."

Waluigi, who had his ski mask on backward, turned around and faced the cashier. "Huh? Oh, sorry! All right, now give me the money!"

"Are you planning on paying with coins or debit?"

Waluigi stroked his chin. "Um… debit."

The slender man reached for his wallet and handed the mermaid his debit card. Taking off his mask, he winked and gave a thumbs up to Wario, who shook his head and facepalmed.

The Lochlady scanned the debit card and raised an eyebrow. She scanned it again and nothing happened. After a third time, she handed the card back to the man with dire news. "Sir, we're showing a balance of zero dollars and zero coins both your checking account _and _savings account."

Waluigi frowned. "…oh."

"Waluigi, will you stop screwing around!?" Wario snarled. "We're supposed to be looking for Power Moons!"

"Not on my watch, Wario Bros."

Both rivals raised both of their eyebrows and glanced towards the front door. Standing in a heroic pose was none other than Luigi, who had his fingers clenched around his Poltergust 5000. His Polterpup, Egon, stood beside him. He growled at the Wario Brothers and snarled. Waluigi removed his mask and gulped as soon as the saw the ghost dog.

"Wario, that's a big dog."

"Oh, please, I've seen Yoshis that are bigger than him," Wario rolled his eyes. "You're too late, Luigi. Waluigi and I are about to wipe this place clean… we're not actually cleaning the place, we're just going to steal of the Power Moons from it, so… oh, you know what I mean!"

"Power Moons are needed for this kingdom's resources, you brute!" Luigi clenched his fist. "I'm-a not gonna let you take them-wait a second, why are you two wearing ski masks? Everyone knows who you are and what you look like."

Wario removed his mask and shared a glance with his partner.

"They make us look professional," the latter replied.

"Yeah, professionally _stupid_."

"All right, you asked for it, you little punk!" Wario grunted, as he jumped on his feet and charged towards Luigi like a rampaging bull. The green-hatted hero gasped and leaped to the side, allowing Wario to faceplant against the wall. He fell on his rear and Luigi jumped on top of his head, causing him to steal stars and mushrooms floating around his head.

Waluigi watched his partner lay on his back, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two tennis rackets with his initial printing on the front. Spinning them around like a samurai twirling a sword, he swung forward and clashed his weapons against Luigi's vacuum.

Luigi ducked beneath another attack before he was kicked in the chest. Waluigi raised his right arm, ready to strike before…

_**MUNCH!**_

"Ow!" Waluigi screamed. He looked down at saw that Egon was biting his leg. "Hey, hey, hey! Get off of me! I just came back from the dry cleaners!"

"Yeah, get him, Egon!" Luigi cheered.

Suddenly, Wario grabbed Luigi by the back strap of his overalls and threw right outside of the front door.

The ghost hunter soared through the air and skidded across the ground on his back. He leaped back up on his feet, only to turn to the right. He gasped by what was happening through a glass window.

Topper, Spewart, and Hariet were stealing the Lochlady Dress of its display.

The three Broodals noticed the plumber staring at them and awkwardly stood still. The only person who waved at the plumber was Spewart. To which, Topper and Hariet moaned and rolled their eyes.

"The Broodals!?" Luigi gasped.

"Hey, it's _Da _Broodals!" Topper corrected the man.

Wario stormed forward and grabbed Luigi once again, holding him by the front straps of his overalls. "I like to call this move, _shake it!_"

Luigi learned what that meant the hard way because Wario started shaking him up and down in a rapid fashion. The plumber felt like he was on the wildest roller coaster in an amusement park, one that kept going around on an infinite loop. Wario cackled loudly as he kept shaking Luigi around, the latter's face turned as green as his hat. Egon rushed out of the store, dragging Waluigi across the ground. He spun around and chucked Waluigi into his partner's back, making the two fall on top of each other.

The ghost catcher fell on his rear and covered his mouth, hoping that he wouldn't lose his lunch.

The Polterpup approached his owner and helped him on his feet.

"Grazie, Egon."

"Arf! Arf!"

"Get off of me, Waluigi!" Wario snarled, as he pushed his sidekick off his back. "That's it, Luigi! Once I get my hands on you, I'm gonna-wait, what the what!?"

The chubby man was distracted by the sight of three Broodals inside of the Lochlady Dress's display room. "Hey, wait a minute! I know those guys!"

"We do?" Waluigi inquired.

"Yeah, don't you remember? They ripped us off!"

"How?"

"They sold us a bunch of Gold Flowers, but they wound up being a bunch of Poison Mushrooms! Who sells a man Poison Mushrooms!?

Waluigi motioned to himself and his partner.

"…oh, yeah. But come on, Waluigi! Let's go show those rabbits who's boss! We'll deal with you later, Green Mario. Waluigi and I have some unfinished business with these guys!"

Luigi rubbed his head when he watched Wario and Waluigi blast through the window of the display room. Wario somersaulted across the ground and crashed into Spewart's stomach. Waluigi ran forward and tackled Hariet. Topper moved to the side with the dress in his hands, instantly recognizing the Wario Brothers.

"Huh, I didn't think I'd see you idiots again," he chuckled. "I'd love to stay and chat with you two bozos, but I got business to attend to."

"Same here!" Luigi entered the battlefield once he and Egon jumped on top of Topper's head. They landed in front of him and the former blinded the rabbit with the Strobulb. Even though that mechanic mainly worked on ghosts, it was still powerful enough to blind a thieving rabbit. Luigi landed two punches before whacking Topper with his rear. He leaped forward and kicked the green-dressed Broodal across the air.

Wario held back Spewart's fist, as the Broodal himself shot the man with a blob of purple goo. Wario rolled across the floor, as Hariet pounced on top of Waluigi's head, slamming him with his own tennis racket.

"Wah, wah, wah!" Waluigi cried, trying to grab the rabbit. "Get this freak off of me!"

As Luigi evaded Topper's projectile hats, he briefly looked over his shoulder and witnessed the chaos that endured. _Mama Mia. I hope Mario's having a better time than I am._

* * *

While his comrades fought against the Wario Brothers and Luigi in the Water Plaza, Rango was left behind to guard the ship and watch over a captured Toadette, who was tied to the ship's flagpole. Her mouth was taped shut by a white cloth and her hands were tied behind her back. The Moon Shards, now formed into a full Power Moon, stood beside her, and Rango sat on the edge of the ship.

He was board and got tired of waiting for his friends to return.

"Gawrsh, it's boring up here," he moaned. "If only I had someone to talk to."

He turned around and looked at the pink Toad. "Hey, excuse me, would you like to talk about heartfelt emotions?"

Toadette was confused, but she snarled as a reply.

"Sorry I asked," Rango rolled his eyes, turning back to the water below him. "Man, I really wanna go swimming. That water looks so nice. Like, I want to just get on my bathing suit and splash right down into that water. Maybe if I get lucky, I can meet a beautiful mermaid girl and we could spend the rest of our lives together. That would be very nice."

Toadette felt like she was going to vomit.

"But of course, I'm here playing babysitter for a small mushroom and a Power Moon… huh? Hey, what's that down there?"

On the grassy field below the ship, Rango noticed a sparkling pink glow buried in the grass.

"Why don't you stay there, little Toad? Oh, wait. What am I saying? You have nowhere to go. _Ya-haha haha hahaha-yuck!_"

Jumping off the ship with his obnoxious laugh, Rango landed against the grass and dug up the source of the pink glow. His eyes were met with a true spectacle once he tossed a chunk of grass into the water. "Well, Whaddya know? I found me some treasure!"

A pink Multi-Moon was buried in the dirt.

Gently taking it out, he brushed off the soil and held it in his hands. "Wait till Topper finds out about you, _ya-huck! _I bet he's gonna give me a promotion!"

Suddenly, a green Warp Pipe sprouted from the ground and out popped Mario and Captain Toad. The two of them landed on their feet and looked around their environment.

Rango noticed them, gasped, and hid the Multi-Moon behind his back. "You again!?"

Hearing his goofy voice, Mario turned and gasped.

Cappy jumped off his companion's head and sneered at the Broodal. "Hey! What are you doing here!? I bet you're planning to steal the Lochlady Dress!"

"Correct you are, Shrimp," Rango chuckled. "Da Broodals are down there stealing it as we speak, but that's not the only thing we found. We got lucky and found a small Power Moon in the grass along with a special guest. Why don't you say hello, little Mushroom Lady?"

Captain Toad and Mario glanced upward, seeing Toadette trapped against the flagpole.

"Toadette!" the captain shouted with his raspy voice. "Let her go, you fluffy freak!"

"Gawrsh, that was such a clever comeback. If y'all want her so badly," he removed his hat, and a line of spikes sprouted on the side. "Come and get her then, _ha-yuck!_" _**(2)**_

The fight between the heroes and the Broodal initiated once Mario and Captain Toad evaded to opposite sides, allowing the hat to bounce off the side of the battle arena. Rango chuckled as he watched the heroes run circles around him. They ran around aimlessly until the rabbit caught his hat, tossing towards Captain Toad.

"Yikes!"

Mario pushed the captain out of the way and threw Cappy at that hat, making it stop in its tracks.

Rolling across the ground, Mario laid Captain Toad on the grass, as he raced forward and noticed something inside Rango's hat, a yellow flower with orange petals. Remembering how he defeated the other Broodals, Mario jumped on top of the flower and it shot him vertically into the air.

Rango's eyes widened, as he searched for the plumber. "Huh!? Where'd you go?"

Without hesitation, Mario stomped right on top of Rango's head.

He cupped his hands together and boosted Captain Toad into the air, where he performed the same trick.

"How do you like that!?" Captain Toad snarled.

"That'll teach you!" Cappy nodded.

"You little punks are gonna pay for that!" Rango grabbed his hat and leaped upward. His upper body went inside his hat, so only his feet were exposed. He started hopping around the circular arena, hoping to squash the heroes like insects.

But due to their agile reflexes, Mario and Captain Toad avoided Rango's attacks.

"Mario, I need to get up to Toadette!" the latter exclaimed.

"Not to worry, I'll get you up there!" the red-hatted hero smiled, as he grabbed Cappy and tossed him forward. "Hop on top of Cappy and he'll boost you up!"

"Thanks, Mario!"

Doing as he was told, Captain Toad leaped off of Cappy's bouncy head, performed a front flip, and faceplanted on top of the Broodals' ship. Mario and Cappy cringed when they saw him land, but they were immediately kicked by Rango's foot.

Captain Toad wiped his face and approached Toadette. "Don't worry, Toadette, I'll save you! But first, let me get this off of your mouth!"

Ripping the cloth off of her mouth, Toadette screamed in agony.

"Sorry, Toadette. Are you okay?"

"Geez, Toad! Why don't you just rip my lips off!"

"You're welcome."

"I didn't say thank you, idiot!"

"Sorry, my bad."

Captain Toad rushed to the back of the flagpole and started untying the note that made up the rope. But it was difficult for him to do so because of his small hands. Toadette shared a brief glance with him before she analyzed the battle below. Rango tossed his hat forward and Mario stopped it by chucking Cappy into it.

Like before, Mario leaped into the air and stomped on top of Rango's head.

"You're-a done for, Rabbit!" he shouted with glee.

"I have a name! It's Rango!"

"Rango? You don't look like a lizard to me."

"Be quiet!" Rango crawled back into his hat and hopped around the arena. Mario and Cappy screamed, as they leaped to the side and ran away from their opponent. Growing concerned for Mario's safety, Toadette started to sweat.

"Toad, hurry up!" she said.

"That's Captain Toad to you and I'm almost done," Captain Toad said that as soon as he untied the rope, freeing his friend. "There we go! Mario, I got Toadette free!"

Mario long jumped away from Rango's stomp attack. "That's-a great, Toad! Now come down here and help me take Rango out!"

"Will do!" Toad smiled, as he offered Toadette his hand. "M'lady?"

Toadette felt flattered by Toad's gesture. "Oh, what a gentleman."

As both archeologists took each other's hands, Mario and Rango faced off one last time. Both of them stopped in their tracks and stared each other down. Rango gripped onto his spikey hat and spun around in a complete circle. Tossing his hat forward, he prayed that this would be the one hit that'll finish Mario and Cappy off…

…he couldn't have been more wrong.

Mario and Cappy stopped the hat from moving and jumped on top of the flower trampoline. Soaring through the air, the two of them bounced on top of Rango's head, but that wasn't the final blow. As soon as Mario somersaulted across the grass, he landed on his knees and shot a thumbs up to both Toads.

Captain Toad and Toadette shared a nod and gave Mario the same gesture.

Without a second thought, the two Toads leaped forward and Ground Pounded on top of Rango's head, knocking him into the dirt. Both of them flew through the air before they landed on their circular boots.

The battle with Rango was finally over. _**(2s)**_

Said rabbit struggled to get up because of the massive headache both Toads gave him. He grabbed his hat and fumbled around the arena, landing on his rear. Everywhere he looked, he saw images of Mario, Cappy, Captain Toad, and Toadette. "You think this is over? Think again, losers. Da Broodals are probably coming back with the Lochlady Dress as we speak and we're getting close to getting every supply on Bowser's wedding list. You'll never stop him in time!"

"As a matter of fact, we will," Mario retorted. "Those Broodals aren't getting the dress and do you want to know why? It's because my brother is down there stopping them as we speak. Knowing Luigi, he'll accomplish the missi-"

_**SPLASH!**_

Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi splashed out of the water and landed on their backs. Moaning and groaning in pain, Egon approached his owner and pulled him up. Mario, Cappy, and the two Toads gasped and rushed towards their ally. Rango laughed and turned to his left. Topper, Spewart, and Hariet climbed onto the top and ran towards the ship.

"Hey, Topper, I got a Multi-Moon _and _a Power Moon!" Rango said proudly. "…but then I lost them."

"I'm not surprised," Topper rolled his eyes. "But I don't matter! Let's get outta here and get back to da boss! I'm sure he'll be happy once we come back with _this_."

Topper showed the heroes that he successfully acquired the Lochlady Dress.

"No!" Cappy and Mario shouted.

The Broodals climbed on top of their ship and waved goodbye.

"So long, chumps!" Topper cackled. "Thanks for leading us to the Lochlady Dress, Mwa-hahahahahahahahaha!"

The rest of the Broodals laughed, as they set sail to their next destination.

Mario kicked the ground in frustration, as Wario and Waluigi stood up.

"What a bunch of furballs," Wario gritted his teeth. "They'll get what's coming to them soon!"

"I bet they will," Waluigi nodded in agreement. "But first, let's snag those Power Moons Malleo and Weegee have!"

"Hold it, Waluigi," Wario halted his partner from engaging in a fight. He angrily stared at the heroes and pointed at them with his pudgy finger. "Don't think this is over, Mario! Waluigi and I will find those Power Moons before you will! And if you stand in our way, we won't hold back!"

"Wah!" Waluigi smirked.

"We'll be back soon, Mario… you can count on it."

Wario and Waluigi jumped into the water and swam away from the grassy platform.

Mario and the others watched them swim back to shore.

"Well, that was a bust," Luigi lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Bro. I tried to stop them, but Wario and Waluigi kept getting in the way."

"Don't-a worry, Luigi," Mario nodded, patting his brother's shoulder. "You did your best and we _will _stop Bowser when the time comes. Peach and Cappy's family _will _be rescued, you can count on that."

"And Toadette and I are willing to help out," Toad nodded, as he whipped out a small device from his backpack. He handed it to Mario. Both Mario Brothers looked down at the device and gasped because they knew where it came from.

It was a Game Boy Horror SP: a communication device made by Professor Elvin Gadd. It was first given to them when Mario and Luigi set off on a quest to retrieve Princess Peach's voice from sibling villains: Cackletta and Fawful. Both brothers were amazed to see this machine return to them.

"The Game Boy Horror SP?" Luigi inquired, gently taking the device from Mario's hand. "How did you guys get ahold of this?"

"Professor E. Gadd made this for us a while back," Toadette replied. "He made this for every member of the Toad Brigade. We use it to find artifacts and communicate with one another. We figured this can be used to locate Power Moons."

"We're planning on getting the Toad Brigade back together and find our own set of Power Moons," Captain Toad nodded. "Once we feel we have enough, we'll rendezvous with one another and lend you guys our Power Moons. Those things activate the Odyssey, right? If you want to reach Bowser's kingdom, then you guys need _a lot _of Power Moons."

"Thank you so much, guys," Mario nodded. "We'll have to tell Professor E. Gadd we said hello."

"Indeed," Cappy nodded, despite not knowing who that is. "Let's test this thing out by looking for more Power Moons around the kingdom. Even though I can find them myself, this device can help us locate ones we might've missed."

"Correct," Mario smiled. "All right, team. Let's-a go!"

* * *

Just when they thought they could get some well-deserved rest, Princess Peach and Tiara were escorted by two Koopa Troopas into a private room. As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted to a ghastly sight.

Bowser and King Beret sat a beautiful round table with a pink table cloth and a set of plates on each side. There were three candles and a vase full of roses and tulips. The Koopa King adjusted his tie and took King Beret off of his head; the Cap Kingdom's king nodded to his daughter and motioned to her, inviting her to a "friendly" environment.

The two Koopa Troopas left the room.

Peach tilted her head to the right, wondering what her nemesis was planning.

"Peach, I'm glad you can make it," Bowser chuckled softly. "Please, have a seat."

Afraid of what would happen if she refused, Peach walked forward and sat in the chair across from Power. Tiara flew off of her blonde hair and sat on the table beside her, gulping and staring at her calm father. She was shocked to see him so relaxed.

"Greetings, Princess," King Beret greeted. "And hello, Daughter."

"Father, why are you doing this?" Tiara inquired. "You know Bowser's evil."

"Now, now, I may seem menacing on the outside, but on the inside, I'm just a big teddy bear," Bowser nodded. Peach folded his arms in disbelief. The smell of lies and slander filled the room. "I know I invaded your kingdom, but I did that for a good reason and that was to get rid of that annoying plumber, Mario. Now that he's off in the middle of nowhere, I thought this could be the perfect time to get to know my soon-to-be-wife, Peach. So, Peach, tell me about yourself. What's your favorite color? Do you enjoy long, romantic walks on the beach? Have you dreamt about ruling the Koopa Empire by my side?"

"Red, yes, and no," Peach replied.

"See, we're getting to know each other already."

"I know what you're trying to do, Bowser, and trust me, this isn't going to work. If I married you, that would mean I'd have to surrender my control over the Mushroom Kingdom to you."

"Well, I'm glad _someone's_ paying attention."

"And if you really think I'm going to be the mother of those snot-nosed kids of yours, you're sadly mistaken."

"I would hire a nanny, but they all leave the second they come here."

"Stop being witty and be honest with yourself. You will never gain control of my kingdom and I will _never _become your wife! You're an evil, diabolical monster who cares about no one but himself!"

"Oh, really? If I'm so selfish, why do I have a device that gives me parental control of Junior's Nintendo Switch? Yeah, I care about the games he plays, I don't want him playing or watching anything explicit! Besides, Peach. How can you possibly save yourself from his marriage? I told you that you're a weak princess who relies on Mario to fight her battles. Getting captured is all you're good for."

"Trust me, Bowser… you have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Let's drop this mean-spirited conversation and order some food, shall we?" Bowser shook his head, as he whistled loudly. "Waiter! I'm waiting for the menu!"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Junior moaned, as he came into the dining room dressed in a white and red sleeved suit. He had a fake mustache on and had black shoes on his feet. Handing the menus over to his customers, he huffed and took out a notepad with a black pen. "Hello, sir, and ma'am. Welcome to the Bowser Family Diner. May I take your order?"

Peach scrolled through the menu and was surprisingly intrigued by what was available. "Oh, wow. The lasagna seems promising."

"We'll split a salad," Bowser handed the menus back to his son. "And make sure mine has extra dressing on it."

"Yes, Dad."

Junior took the menus and walked into the kitchen.

Bowser and Peach were about to have another conversation when they heard an explosion come from the kitchen.

"Dad!" Junior shouted.

"What is it, Junior?"

"Morton burnt the salad!"

"What!? How's that even possible!? Give me a few minutes, Peach," Bowser jumped up from his chair. "Beret, watch over my date and your daughter, please. Morton, how on Earth did you burn a salad? Don't you watch cooking shows!?"

Bowser stormed into the kitchen and slammed the door.

Tiara took this chance to speak with her father. "Father, let's get out of here. This is our perfect chance."

"I'm sorry, Tiara, but I can't."

"Why?"

"It's Bonneter custom to obey their master's every command. No matter how harsh it may be."

"You can't be serious," Peach chimed in. "Bowser kidnapped you and Tiara with brute force. He's sending the Broodals after your own son!"

"If Cappy's smart, he'll go back to my kingdom and stay there," King Beret nodded. "I wouldn't want him involved in this mess… I'll be honest with you ladies; I hate being here. This dullard doesn't know a single thing about romance. But I simply can't rebel against him, it's not Bonneter law. If every Bonneter has a master, they must-"

"Who cares about our ancient custom!?" Tiara snarled. "Our ancestors abandoned that years ago! This is the modern era, Father! We need to get out of here, find Cappy, and head to the Metro Kingdom and find Mom!"

"Wait, what?"

"Peach and I have a plan to escape from this kingdom and find Mom in the Metro Kingdom. We think she's still there!"

"That's quite astute."

"Yes, I've already said that. Stop clowning around and come with us. We can find Mom toget-"

"No!"

Tiara paused. "What?"

"I cannot go back to the Metro Kingdom, not after what happened between your mother and I."

"So, she's in the Metro Kingdom?"

"I didn't say that."

"So, she _isn't _in the Metro Kingdom?"

"I didn't say that either."

"Then, what _are _you trying to say!?"

"I'm saying that as long as I stand, we will not be breaking out of here, we will not ruin the holy matrimony of Princess Peach and Lord Bowser, and we will _not _be going to the Metro Kingdom! It's your mother's fault she didn't come back with me! Why should I be bothered to go look for her!?"

King Beret's daughter widened her eyes at that last remark. She couldn't believe he said something like that, especially about a woman he's cherished for years. Tiara angrily looked at her father before she levitated upward. Her father noticed the disappointed look in her eyes.

The only thing she could say was, "If only Cappy and Mom could see you now, they'd be so disappointed."

With that, she floated out of the room and went back to her cell.

"Tiara, wait," King Beret raised his fight boxing glove, but it was too late. His daughter was already gone, and the damage had been done. Peach looked at the king with the same disappointed look. "You shouldn't be butting into my daughter and I's business, Princess Peach. I don't expect someone like you to understand how the Cap Kingdom works."

"Oh, I may not understand your kingdom's rules, but I understand that family is everything… something you _obviously _don't understand."

With his last remark, Peach jumped up from her chair and called upon the two Koopa guards. They humbly escorted her back to her jail cell.

King Beret watched the princess leave. Lowering his eyes in shame, he closed them and rubbed them with his boxing gloves. With a low sigh, he folded his arms and turned to the kitchen, where he could hear Bowser teaching his kids how to cook.

He slowly began to wonder if he was doing the right thing.

_**END OF CHAPTER 9**_

* * *

_Mario and his crew are on their way to the Wooded Kingdom; however, they are unaware of the fractured relationship between the Cap Kingdom Family. King Beret has chosen to stay with Bowser, which has upset both Tiara and Peach. Will the king realize that family is more important than tradition or do we have ourselves a new villain on the rise? Either way, things aren't looking so well for Princess Peach and Tiara. Hopefully things will get better soon. With the Broodals searching for their next item on Bowser's list, Mario and his crew aren't too far behind. Tune in next time as I finally get to one of my favorite kingdoms..._

_"Chapter 10: Heroes of Steam Gardens."_

_Holy smokes! For the first time in a Mario story, I've reached ten chapters without Writer's Block! Whoooooo hoooooo!_

* * *

**_POST-A/N:_**

_The Game Boy Horror SP is a communication device Mario and Luigi acquire in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Both GBA & 3DS Remake w/ Bowser's Minions). It was created by Professor Elvin Gadd and he'll give it to the brothers when they meet him at the Starbeans Café. I haven't played Superstar Saga in a long time, but I'm hoping to find the 3DS remake of that game and Bowser's Inside Story. Sadly, Partners In Time never got a remake, which sucks. I loved that one. I never played Paper Jam though, is that one any good? _

_If anyone gets the lizard joke made with Mario and Rango, I will give that person a ghost high five._

_Since I haven't focused on Peach in a while, I figured I'd give her some spotlight in this chapter as well as Tiara. We never see the two interact that much in the game, so it makes me wonder how their friendship escalated. It's implied they're close since Peach is traveling with Tiara after the game ends, but it sucks we never see their friendship in the game itself._

_As stated in the previous Author's Note, Captain Toad and Toadette will not be tagging along with the crew. I plan to have the crew consist of six to eleven characters at most._

_Mario's Crew (In Order of Appearance):_

_1) Mario  
2) Cappy  
3) Luigi  
4) Egon  
_

_We'll see who else comes soon._

_And that's it, everyone. Thank you all so much for reading. Don't forget to R&R! I'm The Sensational SpiderDom321 and I'll see you all next time!_

_~SD321 (SpiderDom321)_


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